


you've begun to feel like home

by bertererei



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Assumed pedophilia of a dead OC, Child Soldiers, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Foul Language, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Manga Spoilers, OOC, Terrorism, Unnecessarily Cruel Violence, War, background mental/emotional/physical child abuse, background politics, discrimination against Eldians, mentioned titan violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-03-30 20:37:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 83,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19035172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertererei/pseuds/bertererei
Summary: Manga Spoilers. Please be warned.------The title “War Hero” only sounds fancy when there’s a war to fight. Likewise, the title of “Hero” only sounds glorious with a tragedy as a backdrop. That’s why, this time for sure, Eren is going to prevent this tragedy.





	1. Prologue - The Introduction of a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for the manga. If you know the basic gist of Zeke’s backstory, you should be fine, I think. That said, I also change a hell lot, so please just bear with me.
> 
> Warning: Child soldiers, background mental/emotional/physical child abuse, mentioned Titan violence, war, background politics, discrimination against Eldians, foul language, OOC, OCs, family fluff, domestic fluff, hurt/comfort, terrorism, assumed pedophilia of a dead OC (but I swear it's not true)
> 
> This is an AU in which I swap Zeke and Eren (So Eren is 10 years older than Zeke, and Zeke is Armin’s and Mikasa’s age). In order to do this properly, I also swapped Dina and Carla (So Carla is an Eldian Restorationists living in an internment zone and Dina is royalty inside the Walls). Due to hand-wavey reasons, I gave Kruger a few extra years. All of this backstory will play a role later in pretty minor ways.
> 
> To cut down on OCs, I guesstimated the Marley soldiers’ ages higher than what they probably are in canon. But it wasn’t enough, so I’m sorry but there are OCs in later chapters. Don’t worry; majority of them will be dying in painful/gruesome manners.
> 
> Please suspend your disbelief while reading this.

“… A medal, sir?” 

The green-eyed soldier raises his brow at his commanding officer. His ire apparently can be felt by this simple motion, because the commanding officer coughs into his hand to cover up his awkwardness.

“A medal and a promotion.”

When an accusatory silence stretches between the two, the commanding officer rushes to explain himself.

“The higher ups decided it. We don’t have a choice in the matter. Look, Kruger, all of us would rather you be on the front lines, too. But the public wants to celebrate their War Hero. Think of this as a short vacation. Go get a medal and a promotion, give some heartwarming speech, meet some beautiful Marleyan women - or men. I don’t want to assume your preference. But just… enjoy yourself, alright?”

“Is that an order, sir?” the soldier asks, his voice taking on a hint of belligerence.

The commanding officer sighs heavily. “And fix that attitude of yours. One wrong word to the higher ups and you’ll be sitting at the gallows instead of getting a medal. Pretend, at the very least for the children, to be a hero the media praises you to be.”

“I never asked to be a hero.”

“No. No one ever does.”

 

*

 

“Lieutenant Eren Kruger of 187th Cavalry Division. At your service,” the green-eyed soldier introduces himself as such.

The room that he is in is a sparse military office, clearly meant only to be used as a meeting room. The marks on the carpet suggests that there used to be tables and chairs here that were moved aside for the sake of this meeting. Currently, there are two couches facing each other in the middle of the room and a low table with tea and cookies between them.

On one of the couches sits a man that the green-eyed soldier has been told is “Willy Tybur.” There is no one else in the room. It is just the two of them.

This is most definitely not what Eren expected when he was told that someone at the top wanted to meet him. Why would an Eldian family member that has kept themselves as elusive as possible suddenly make this move?

How delightfully suspicious.

“My, my. I feel protected already with you in the room!” Tybur tells Eren with a giggle. He motions at the couch in front of him. “Please, do sit down.”

“I am comfortable standing.”

Tybur giggles again. “I suppose you don’t want any tea or cookies then? I heard from the men that you have a sweet tooth.”

“I do not eat sweets while on duty.”

Both of them know that that’s a lie. If Tybur truly did talk to the men about Eren’s sweet tooth (and he must have, since Onyankopon jumped through hoops to keep that little fact out of the media’s hands), then he should know of the number of times Eren’s commanding officer almost popped a vein every time he found a candy wrapper at the station. But in Eren’s defense, sugar is an important food for the brain, and therefore, the most important thing to have in a high-stress situation. Regulations be damned.

“Shame. I brought the best apple pie for you, too,” Tybur sighs.

Eren twitches but manages to keep his face neutral. It’s clear that Tybur saw it, but neither comments on it.

“I suppose I should just get to business then. You were in the front lines for a while so you might not have heard, but our recent picks to inherit the Titan powers have proven to be magnificent. The heads want to try deploying them with the rest of the military for a test run.”

Tybur pauses to give Eren a meaningful look. Eren makes a point to pretend to remain ignorant of what Tybur is asking. Seeing that, Tybur chuckles and sips his tea.

“I heard from your commanding officer that you’re quite a handful and that you’ve been ordered to keep your mouth shut if you can’t remain civil. But as you can see, it’s just the two of us in this room. Please feel free to speak your mind.”

Eren keeps his mouth shut. 

“What I mean,” Tybur emphasizes when he realizes that the silence might stretch on. “You won’t have any military action taken against you. Nor personal ones. I’ve brought you here because I was curious as to where our War Hero stands. What are your thoughts, Eren? That is, is it alright if I call you Eren? I want us to be friends.”

“Willy,” Eren says. 

He’s testing the waters. If this man truly wants to be “friends” and wants to hear Eren’s thoughts, then this little usage of name shouldn’t mean anything. But if the man is lying (which Eren suspects he is), then his face will twist into a grimace…

Willy’s eyes are bright as he stares at Eren. There’s a dorky grin on his face as he motions for Eren to continue.

Damn it.

“I don’t have much of a personal thought. But if it’s an order, I shall develop one right now.”

There’s a small pause as Willy lets that sink in. Eren thought for sure that he’d receive the usual exasperated sigh or a look of utter disappointment that the image of the War Hero Kruger has been marred by the reality that is Eren.

He doesn’t expect for Willy to laugh.

“Oh, you’re a delight! Hahaha! No wonder they refused to let me see you the first five times I asked! I bet you’re toning it down for me, too. Don’t worry. I won’t order you. I don’t have any rank over you, anyways. But as a friend, I’m a bit depressed that you can’t trust me enough to tell me how you feel.”

It’s because Eren’s caught off-guard that he does this.

It’s not because he considers Willy a friend.

But Eren sits down on the couch across from Willy, earning a soft squeal of excitement. Crossing his legs, Eren reaches for the lukewarm tea in front of himself.

“My feelings aren’t a secret. If you’ve truly talked with the men, you should already know how I feel about Eldians and Titans.”

Eren takes a sip of the tea. He doesn’t know what kind of tea this is or how it was prepared, but it’s super sweet, just the way he likes it. He wonders how many sugar cubes are already in this and if it’ll be rude if he adds even more.

“I heard that you hate us. Eldians, I mean. Tragedy of  Silvis, am I correct? A group of bandits broke into the Titan Research Center in Silvis and let loose over fifty Pure Titans. Due to miscommunications and hesitancy at the top, no help arrived until two weeks later. In that hellhole, you kept yourself and fifteen others alive… When was it now? Nine years ago? I’ve read all about it in the papers. The ‘Tragic Backstory of our War Hero.’”

Willy speaks nonchalantly. He pretends to be solely focused in cutting the apple pie, one slice for himself and another for Eren. Eren tries hard not to watch too carefully. But he can’t help but to note how uneven the pieces look. Willy better not be planning to eat the bigger piece… 

“And then we have the incident a month ago. I believe the press is calling it the ‘Glory of Gramina?’” 

Eren realizes that Willy has paused in cutting the slices to glance at him. He makes a point of looking away from the apple pie with an embarrassed cough.

“What a misleading name.”

There. Now it looks like he wasn’t just salivating at the pie and was actually paying attention to Willy’s monologue.

Willy chuckles before resuming cutting the slices. He probably knows what Eren was paying attention to. Damn him.

“It is. A miscommunication with the Air Force caused them to drop nearly twenty Pure Titans on top of our own forces before they could retreat from the enemy zone. While everyone was panicking, you rallied the forces and kept everyone you encountered alive until the Young Warriors arrived to clear the field. I believe you saved nearly 80 people before they arrived, both from our side and our enemy’s. It’s the very incident that propelled you to the headlines as our nation’s War Hero. What are your thoughts on that?”

Eren accepts his pie piece (his is bigger, by the way. Looks like Willy is serious when he said he wants to be friends) and takes a bite. It’s sweet and the pie filling seems to almost melt on his tongue. How delicious. Willy wasn’t kidding when he said that this was the best apple pie. Where did he get this? Eren wants to pick up a few, one for his men to share and the rest for himself.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the pie,” Willy tells him with a sly smile.

Right. Focus. Eren pretends that his cheeks aren’t heating up in embarrassment and answers Willy’s previous remark.

“My thoughts are simple. There’s quite a lot of miscommunication in our military structure.”

It must have caught Willy off-guard again, because he stares blankly at Eren. Then he bursts out laughing.

“Hahaha! My goodness, Eren! You’re not at all what I expected!”

“I apologize for ruining your perception of the War Hero,” Eren says the rehearsed line his commanding officer made sure he remembered. He makes sure to stretch his lips into a grin (he’s certain it looks more like a feral snarl). “What can I say? My charms are better kept to the battlefield.”

Willy shakes his head. “No, no. This is… hehe… This is great! I can entrust the future to someone like you.”

Please don’t, Eren thinks as he takes a forkful of the apple pie. At least the delicious taste of pie can distract him from Willy’s laughter. 

“Transfer to Liberio. I want you to work in the Warriors Division and take care of the Titan Shifters.”

“I refuse,” Eren answers without even a second of hesitation.

Willy’s face falls comically. This man is someone who is used to putting on a show for an audience. It puts Eren on edge. Because an actor like this always has their motives hidden. And for that matter, why can an Eldian (even if they’re from Tybur family) give an order like this? There’s more to the Tybur family then first meets the eyes. Damn. To think such an important puzzle piece will land on his lap this easily. It makes his long years in the military seem almost like a waste.

Almost.

“I thought we were friends!”

Eren gives him the same stretch of lips again. “You know how I feel of Eldians. So why would an Eldian such as yourself extend friendship in the first place?”

“Would you accept if I offer the rest of the apple pie for you to eat?”

Just what kind of an easy man does Willy think Eren is? Eren puts the plate of half-eaten apple pie on the table and glares at Willy.

“I see. That was insensitive of me, wasn’t it?” Willy sighs. “But if you’re in Liberio, I will be able to go see you whenever I’m free. And I’ll always bring you something delicious like this apple pie every time. My little sister’s learning how to bake, you see. So there’ll be a huge variety of sweets to eat!”

While it is impressive that this apple pie was apparently baked by Willy’s younger sister, it still doesn’t lessen the sting of intention behind Willy’s words. Eren crosses his arms in front of himself and lets his silence speak.

“… I really wish you accepted the apple pie. But I suppose that would be too easy, huh?” 

Willy leans forward and lowers his voice. The friendly atmosphere is all but gone as he pins Eren down with a cold glare. 

“The 80 people you saved from  Glory of Gramina are currently being taken care of in the military hospital. But a good portion of them are normal civilians from the enemy lines. We’re receiving a lot of complaints that our supplies are being wasted on those who aren’t even on our side. Do you catch my drift?”

What a cold-blooded thought process. But it’s not like Eren doesn’t understand where they are coming from. He worked so hard to keep as many people as he could alive, but, in the end, those people won’t live past a few months, huh? So this is the best that a Lieutenant can do.

“And because I’ve saved their lives once, I must now be burdened with them for the rest of my life? Do as you will with them. It isn’t my business.” Eren matches Willy’s coldness with his own.

Does it seem surprising? Because Willy’s eyes have gotten a fraction wider. Did he truly think that Eren is the type to get attached due to sentimental reasons? He has lost too much (staked far too much more) to be stopped by something as fleeting as someone else’s life.

Willy covers his mouth with clasped hands, looking to Eren as if he is a formidable opponent. And isn’t that a riot? Weren’t they just talking about friendship a few minutes ago?

“The members of the  187th Cavalry Division often fight alongside non-Marleyans, am I correct? After the Voluntary Eldian group is sent in, the Cavalry and the non-Marleyans are the next to enter the battle.”

Eren doesn’t like where this is heading. “What of it?”

“I wonder if any of them thought of defecting. After all, your division is one of the lowest ranking division. It wouldn’t be surprising if any of them became… convinced to hand over tactics or strategies to the wrong hands.”

“Our division would never-”

A trap, Eren realizes belatedly after his temper has flared. Willy’s eyes sparkle. Damn. Because of Eren’s carelessness, Willy knows to use his division as a bargaining chip.

He lost. All that’s left is to salvage the most he can from this.

“What’s an Eldian doing with this much knowledge of our internal structure? You almost sound like you’re the one in power, Willy.”

“It's because I’m serious about you,” Willy tells him. His mouth is still covered but the sincerity in his eyes are clear. “I’m fine with showing more cards than usual to you. But understand that this cannot go outside of this room.”

Eren hates this man on instinct.

“We of the Tybur family have more power than we let on. Of course, we don’t do much with it typically. But once we make a move, we can crush anyone, Marleyan or not. We’re not below faking evidence, too. I’m sure you catch my drift so I’ll leave the threat with that. But the opposite is true, too. We can grant you riches beyond your dreams. So why don’t you accept my friendship while I’m still in a good mood?”

What a despicable man. He’s going to keep twisting Eren’s arm until he gets exactly what he wants? And once he’s done with Eren, then what? Wouldn’t he be silenced to never let this secret out?

What a miserable way to spend the rest of his short life. 

“Fine,” Eren grits out. “I’ll transfer.”

And in the four years he has left, he needs to find someone suitable to take on the Attack Titan, just in case he is killed before his time. Perhaps it's a good thing to be moving back to Liberio, even if his memories of that place is filled with nothing but grime and loathing. At the very least, he'll have his choice in Eldians.

Assuming, of course, that a Marleyan being friendly with an Eldian doesn't immediately get him killed. 

Willy drops his hands from his mouth to grin at Eren like they’re best of friends. “Please don’t be so angry. I promise I’ll take good care of you and your men. We’ll make sure that the survivors are well-cared for at the best hospitals Marley has to offer, too. And, of course, we’ll allow some of the division members to transfer with you so you won’t be lonely. Hm? What else? Oh, yes. The apple pie is yours and any future sweets my darling sister makes is all for you! Isn’t this a great deal?”

It is far more than Eren thought he’d be able to get. He thought for sure that Willy would push and push until Eren had absolutely nothing left. If Willy isn't the one who has inherited his family's War Hammer Titan, would he be interested in the Attack Titan?

Hah. He probably shouldn't bring something like that up in their first meeting.

That's more of what? Third date topic?

“I want to be friends with you. That isn’t a lie,” Willy tells Eren when he sees the suspicion on Eren’s form.

“Friendship,” huh?

“Answer me this. Why do you need a War Hero in Liberio for? Aren’t I a better tool on the battlefield?”

Willy pauses for a second as if he is sincerely debating whether to tell the truth or not. Then he must have decided that this is worth it, because he honestly talks to Eren.

“Within this year, the current head of the Tybur house will die, and I will take over. When that happens, I plan on a complete overhaul of my family. This long standing stance of isolation might have worked for those greedy old fools that came before me, but I’m different. I will change this system.”

Young but determined eyes of someone who have yet to experience the world. That’s how Willy’s eyes look to Eren right now. Eyes bright with hope like a fresh recruit’s on the eve of their first battle. 

“And for that reason, you need a War Hero in your back pocket?”

Willy nods. “Exactly!”

“But that title ‘War Hero’ is only attractive because of  Glory of Gramina. Within few months, something new would come along to replace me.”

“That’s why I want you to work with the Young Warriors. Any and all success on their ends will be credited to you. I want you to grow as a War Hero for all of Marley to love.” Willy pauses to let that sink in. “I’m going to turn you into the next Helos.”

What a crazy man.

But Eren has always been so easily charmed by crazy people. At least, that’s what the former Eren Kruger would’ve said. 

“I don’t mind becoming a puppet War Hero for you. But I want something in return.”

Willy nods. “Anything. Promotion? Done. Pay raise? No problem. Your division to be taken care of for the rest of their lives? I’ll have to pull some strings, but I can do it. The only thing I might be reluctant to part with is my little sister, if you were to say something like you want to date her. But if you’re that insistent-”

Eren pulls out a dagger from inside of his boot and places it on the table between them. Willy stares at him blankly. Then Eren pulls out another dagger from his belt. He carelessly cuts his right hand shallowly and holds it out for Willy to take.

“Shake on it.”

Willy stays frozen for a second longer before he chuckles. “You’re quite an amusing man.”

When he picks up the dagger on the table, Eren stops him.

“Understand that shaking on it means that I will hold you forever responsible for the words you spoke to me today. Everything you promised me, I expect to have. In return, I will be your Helos for as long as there’s life left in this body, but on my terms. I'll play hero all you want, but you leave the Warriors Division and their business to me. What happens there, you don't get to dictate. Only if you’re satisfied with that condition, shake on it.”

There’s a soft puff of breath that sounds like a chuckle. Willy doesn’t hesitate to slice his right hand and grabs Eren’s in a firm hold.

“I am very satisfied with it, Eren. Then I’ll count on you!”

 

*

 

The private meeting between a member of the Tybur family and the War Hero Kruger has gone on for less than ten minutes when the door unexpectedly opens. All awaiting personnel, both military and those from Tybur family, straightens to greet their respective member.

“Hey, can someone with medical knowledge get us a first aid kit?” Kruger asks as he peers out from the door.

Willy is just behind him, eyes wet with tears. He is clutching a napkin in his right hand, and everyone can see that the whites of the napkin are slowly being dyed red with blood.

“I… hahaha… seem to have cut too deeply!”

 

*

 

Commander Theo Magath is doing everything he can to not squeal in excitement. It’ll be unbecoming of a commander (not to mention a man of his stature and age). This surpassion has ended with his lips being curved into a fierce scowl that everyone is shying away from, but Theo hasn’t realized that yet.

He marches to the location of the private meeting room and waits outside in the hallway as he has been instructed to.

When he first heard the news that the War Hero Eren Kruger will be coming to Liberio, he accidentally bit his tongue in excitement. It scared the Young Warriors quite a bit, and also for that Theo has been doing his utmost best to not show his excitement about the current situation. 

But this is different.

If what his higher ups have said is correct, then the famed and beautiful (Okay, Theo only saw the War Hero briefly in passing during Glory of Gramina, but the photos in newspaper always look breathtaking) Kruger will be transferring to the Warriors Division.

In other words, they will become co-workers.

Theo has already strictly told all the Young Warriors to clean the training grounds and the classrooms. And tomorrow, they’ll hold a minor exhibition to show off their talents to impress the War Hero! This cannot go wrong. For the sake of the children to do well tomorrow, Theo must charm Kruger here.

The door to the private meeting opens. Theo (and the rest of the  waiting personnel) straightens.

“Thanks for the pie,” Eren Kruger says, shaking bandaged hands with Willy.

“And thank you for agreeing to meet me! Then I’ll wait for good news.”

Willy and the rest of the Tybur family personnel take their leave first. Kruger watches them go with a cold calm.

It gives Theo some time to watch the War Hero.

At first glance, Kruger comes off as a cold soldier. His green eyes are sharp, analyzing everything around him. His posture comes off as relaxed. But Theo can’t find any kind of opening. In fact, Theo thinks it might be completely impossible to approach this man.

Just as he thinks such a thing, one of the Tybur maids return with a small box.

“Lieutenant Kruger, Willy insisted that this be given to you.”

With a polite bow, the maid leaves once Kruger has accepted the box.

Theo edges closer to Kruger but finds himself too tongue-tied to speak up.

“Oh, cookies,” Kruger says as he checks the contents of the box. 

There’s a surprisingly soft smile on Kruger’s face. And that’s it. That’s what gives Theo the strength to speak.

“E-excuse me, Lieutenant Kruger? I-I believe you’ve been transferred over to the Warriors Division.”

The smile on Kruger’s face disappears immediately and is replaced with an annoyed grimace. Theo feels a crushing disappointment for being the reason for that shift.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“I am Commander Magath. I am in charge of this division. I look forward to working with you.”

Kruger’s gaze is cold as he regards Theo. “Rumors sure travel fast. Or do you mean to say that this transfer has been in the works for a while now?”

“What do you mean? Your transfer has been in place since a week ago.”

A small look of shock passes on Kruger’s face before it turns into annoyance. 

“Damn it. He got me.”

“Lieutenant-”

“Commander Magath, you said?”

“Y-yes.”

“You don’t have to be so formal with me. Your rank is higher than mine.”

But how can he when he’s speaking to the War Hero?

“I-it’s just… you saved a lot of lives and… Haha, it might sound a bit childish, but you are our hero.”

For a second, Kruger’s green eyes seem livid. Like he can’t forgive something. But when a second passes, there’s nothing there but mild annoyance.

“A ‘hero,’ huh?”

Theo wonders why Kruger looks so tired.


	2. The Reluctance of a Hero

“Lieutenant Kruger! How long are you going to sleep? Lieutenant!” 

This was supposed to be a vacation, wasn’t it? Get a medal and promotion, give a speech, fool around, and then return to the battlefield. 

Somehow, Eren’s plan has gotten all mixed up.

Damn that Willy.

His peaceful time in the frontlines will now be replaced by bunch of bratty children? Moreover, the person in charge is  _ that _ Magath. Even if it’s obvious that Magath hasn’t connected “War Hero Eren Kruger” of right now to the “Warrior Candidate Eren Jaeger” of the past, there’s still a possibility of that happening.

But what’s the point in worrying about a problem like that? 

A Marleyan soldier be suspected of being a an Eldian?

_ “As long as you continuously show your loyalty to the Marleyan government, it will never happen.” _

That’s what the former Eren Kruger used to say. So as long as the title “War Hero” exists, Eren should be fine, right?

“Lieutenant! Are you awake?!”

Right. He should deal with Magath before the hotel staff gets involved.

Technically speaking, Eren should really look for an apartment or something to stay in. But he doesn’t want to randomly pick one, only to find out that his squad members will end up next door. If he can, he’d rather pick somewhere out of sight where no one would bother him at his quiet sanctuary…

He seriously contemplates getting a cardboard box house by the side of the river.

In this search for his perfect place, he ended up at this hotel. His reputation as the “War Hero” was more than enough to get him some discount for a few nights. But he doubts he can just live here like that once the transfer is complete.

Eren yawns loudly and opens the hotel room door. Commander Magath stands there in full uniform, ready for the day. When he sees the state of undress that Eren is in, his face falls.

And so today’s goal begins.

“Lieutenant, did I not tell you I’ll be here at nine sharp?”

“You told me,” Eren answers.

“Did I not tell you to be ready? That we will be meeting the Young Warriors?”

“You told me.”

Commander Magath’s lips curve into a deep frown. “Then why are you still standing here?!”

Obviously to break Magath’s ridiculous hero-worship, not that Eren can just say that out loud. There are benefits to keeping the wool over Magath’s eyes. That’s not something Eren will debate. However, as co-workers, it’ll only end up as a headache for Eren in the long run.

Therefore, the goal of today is to be as sleazy and disgusting as possible to break this enchantment.

Eren scratches his neck, emphasizing his lack of a shirt. This used to give his commanding officer quite a headache whenever Eren walked around like this. From the dark expression on Magath’s face, it seems to be working quite well.

“Ahhhh, you’re such a hardass,” Eren complains. 

He walks into the room towards the couch where he spent the night. There are trash from last night’s take out scattered all around the floor as well as candy wrappers. Eren also left out half-empty booze bottles all around, too. And for the final nail on the coffin, he reaches down, takes out a cigarette, and lights it.

That’s right.

Your supposedly amazing War Hero is this much of a trash, Magath. Are you disappointed? Huh, are you?

“… Lieutenant Kruger, were you up all night writing these?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m tra…”

Eren pauses. Writing…?

Now that he thinks about it, what was he doing before he fell asleep? He was on the couch, munching on some candy and…

Ah.

That’s right.

“Are these handwritten letters to your fallen comrades’ families?” Magath picks a few up from the pile and glances at them. “They’re all personalized, too.”

Shit.

“D-don’t look at those!”

But Eren can’t bring himself to snatch them out of Magath’s hands in fear that they might rip. Those are high quality papers that he splurged on instead of getting better quality sweets. He knows it’ll mean nothing to the family receiving them, but he also don’t want those families to stare at the heartless “Your child’s sacrifice for the nation… blah blah blah” with his signature at the bottom that’s the norm. Not to mention as a Lieutenant, he's not even supposed to send these. This is a privilege for the higher ups. He knows that.

He knows that.

He feels his cheeks heat up as he glares at the trash on the ground. 

Damn it. He knows it’s insincere, okay? He knows that a letter isn’t going to bring their dead soldiers back. He knows that the grief of losing family cannot be soothed over some random scribbles on fancy paper. But he didn’t know what else to do. He wanted to go visit each of the family himself, but then stupid Willy forced him to transfer here and-

“I’m going to turn a blind eye to your tardiness for ten more minutes. Get dressed and ready.”

 

*

 

What a guy, Theo thinks as he picks up the trash in the hotel room.

How depressed did he get, sitting alone in this hotel room with a mountain of letters to write? From the half-empty bottles of sweet liquors, it’s easy to imagine. Kruger, with one hand against his temples and another clutching the fountain pen, struggling to keep his emotions in check. In order to stop the tears from hitting the letters, he gently puts the pen down and curls up on the couch. He whispers the names of the fallen comrades and cries himself to sleep…

Not only has Kruger been ordered suddenly away from his troops, but he’s also recovering from Glory of Gramina. It wasn’t like Theo wanted to look on purpose. But those deep scars on Kruger’s chest must have been life-threatening at one point in time.

In the middle of all of that, he’s worried for the families of the soldiers he couldn't save.

Theo clenches his fist and fights back the tears. 

What a remarkable hero! Truly, this is the Marleyan Hero that Magath has been praying for.

“Commander, I’m ready,” Kruger says.

Dressed in his full uniform, Kruger looks nothing like messy and crude man who opened the hotel door few minutes ago. Theo is slightly impressed.

“Huh? Did you… c-clean up?” Kruger asks, glancing around at the now clean room.

“I had time.”

Kruger surprises him by blushing and ducking his head. “T-thank you, I guess,” he mumbles like a shy kid.

Theo resists the urge to tease the War Hero and motions at the door.

“The kids are waiting.”

 

*

 

“The kids are waiting,” Magath had said.

And yet he’s not protesting as Eren walks into yet another bakery to pick up sweets. This is the third detour that they’ve taken. And aside from mild annoyance, Magath hasn’t said anything in protest.

It’s actually making Eren really, really guilty.

And now that he has three bags full of sweets, maybe Eren should actually head towards the damned training grounds.

How long has it been now? The last time he saw that place, it was burning quite nicely. Ah… has it already been 10 years since then? It probably has been rebuilt to look fancier… 

“S-sorry for… taking up so much time,” Eren tells Magath, because he’s not a total mannerless slob. And it’s easier to focus on the present if he’s talking.

“I’m sure the kids will enjoy getting treats from the War Hero.”

Eren blinks. “Uh… these are for me.”

There’s a small pause as Magath slowly turns to face Eren. His expression is turning rather dark, isn’t it?

“Come again?”

“These sweets.” Eren holds up the three bags. “They’re for me.”

Magath nods. “I see. Yes, that’s what I thought you said.”

H-he’s not going to explode? He’s not going to get mad? But Eren wasted a lot of time and… and… Huh. Guess this doesn’t actually bother Magath all that much.

“A question. How hard did your commanding officers work to hide your sweet tooth from the press?”

Eren remembers Yelena’s eyes as she mercilessly tore the donut out of his hands before leaving the office. He remembers her kind smile before she searched through all of his pockets to take any small treats he hid. Faintly, he also remembers his commanding officer shaking his head before bemoaning, “Why can't she always be that vigilant?”

“My men were more concerned about that than my commanding officer,” Eren admits. “They said I shouldn’t crush people’s dreams so carelessly.”

There’s a small pause as Magath seems to consider that. Then he must have realized something because his eyes light up. 

“Lieutenant…” Magath begins slowly.

“Yes, Commander?”

He suddenly snatches the bags out of Eren’s hands, his lips pulling back into a snarl.

“I’ll give these back once we’ve seen the kids!”

With that, Magath bravely begins to run. Eren stares blankly at the retreating back for a second. Then it sinks in.

“H-hey! Give those back! Commander!”

 

*

 

It’s been two hours since the meeting time.

Even for a supposed War Hero, isn’t this pushing things quite a lot?

Reiner doesn’t think he’s alone in thinking that, because everyone looks restless. 

“To think Commander Magath can be late,” Pieck says with a soft sigh.

“Maybe they were attacked on the way,” Porco guesses.

“W-who would attack a War Hero?” Bertolt wonders with wide eyes.

“Desperate women maybe?” Marcel suggests. “Ah, but if the War Hero truly is as generous as the papers made him out to be, then he might have been stopped multiple times by well-wishers.”

Annie makes a soft scoffing sound. “You really believe that? That this War Hero is generous?”

Reiner doesn’t understand why Marcel hesitates to answer that. Isn’t it obvious? Of course the War Hero is generous! He is someone who has saved countless lives. His mom praised the War Hero when they read the papers together. Someone who can stand as a proud Marleyan. Someone who seems to be the living embodiment of Helos himself.

“I don’t think it’ll be fair for us to judge before we meet him,” Marcel says evenly.

How strange. Reiner doesn’t get it at all. Isn’t it obvious that someone with the title of a “Hero” will be someone generous and heroic and courageous? Why would anyone have to think about it?

“Ah, here they are,” Colt says, pointing out the window. 

The seven of them rush to the window to see for themselves. Commander Magath is hunched over by the gates, possibly gasping for breath. Shortly behind him is who they have only seen afar and from photographs. 

The War Hero, Lieutenant Eren Kruger.

The two of them are greeted by the other soldiers that have been waiting for them.  Commander Magath quickly straightens and gives one of the soldiers… three suspicious looking brown bags? Huh? What… what was the Commander doing with those…?

It looks like Kruger is protesting, because the soldier with the bags pauses to stare at him. But whatever Magath said must have been stern, because the soldier salutes and bolts out of there.

They can’t hear anything Commander Magath and Kruger are saying, but it looks pretty serious. When the two finish speaking and start heading for the building, the seven of them quickly settle back into their seats. 

Within the minute, the door opens and Commander Magath enters.

The seven of them rise to salute him.

“At ease. I apologize for the delay. Since we’ve lost precious time, we’ll start right away.” Commander Magath stops and glances at the door. “Lieutenant, enter and introduce yourself.”

The man who walks in is exactly how Reiner imagined a hero would look. A prim and pristine uniform without any fancy badges or medals despite his lists of achievements. A neutral expression and calm eyes that sweeps across the room briefly to check for any immediate danger. A build of a man who has seen combat and lived to tell the tale. An air about him that seems relaxed yet completely unapproachable. 

The ideal man that Reiner wants to become.

“Lieutenant Eren Kruger of 187th Cavalry Division. Don’t get used to the title, I’ll be promoted soon.”

When it’s clear that that’s all Kruger is going to say, Magath takes over.

“The Lieutenant has decided that the best gauge of your skills will be to face each of you in combat-”

“I did no such thing,” Kruger interrupts. “Commander, if we are to work together, then you must understand this very important thing about me. I abhor dishonesty.”

Commander Magath looks just as taken back as the rest of them feels. Except for Reiner, it’s not just a matter of being taken back. It’s also adoration. 

Amazing, he thinks. Someone who talks back to their commanding officer without any fear of repercussions! Is this because Kruger is a Marleyan? Or does it have more to do with the fact that he returned from the frontlines of war? Is this something that even someone like Reiner would be able to do? Or will this be something that he’ll always admire Kruger for from afar?

Magath takes a deep breath. “I apologize, Lieutenant. I assumed you’d want your… secret to remain-”

“Is that a threat?” 

Kruger’s voice is flat, almost calm. But his green eyes are lit with anger. Reiner can feel the chill of murderous intent from that simple glare, and it’s not even aimed at him.

“Lieutenant, stand down,” Magath orders. “You are no longer on the frontlines. We are not here as enemies. Save your venom.”

There’s a small pause before Kruger closes his eyes. When he opens them again, the fire is gone. He is as calm as a field of grass on a sunny day.

“I apologize, Commander. That was immature of me. But I do understand where you are coming from, even if I don’t agree with your methods. The quickest way to judge one’s abilities is through actual combat. However, I do not feel confident in facing specialized Titans. I have slain plenty of Pure Titans, but they were mindless and without any special ability.”

Reiner shudders. How can anyone be this confident when facing against Titans? He knows that it’s not just a bluff, either. After all, he was also there near the end of  Glory of Gramina to help with cleanup as the Armored Titan. He doesn’t remember seeing even a fleeting glance of Kruger (but according to Pieck, he had been there), but he recalls the slowly disappearing Titan corpses that had littered the streets.

“Furthermore, if I do get serious, I do not think I will be able to stop myself from killing them.”

Magath holds his hand up in the air to stop Kruger. “You will not be facing Titans. Why would you think such a thing?”

Kruger raises an elegant brow. “Then what else would I face?”

He sounds so matter-of-fact that it makes Reiner actually stop to think about that. Kruger doesn’t even consider them as target practice when in human form. Is it because for a seasoned soldier, they can never compare up? If that’s the case, then Reiner also wants to side with Commander Magath. They can do it. They’ve trained very hard. They’re not just kids. 

They’re Warriors.

“I-I meant the kids. You’ll face against the kids-”

“Commander,” Kruger’s voice is sharp. “Surely you jest?”

With that simple question, Kruger has silenced Commander Magath again. Reiner’s own protest that they should be given a chance to prove themselves dies in his throat. What terrifying eyes. Reiner feels like if they were to set on him, he’d burst into flames and leave nothing but ashes behind.

“You’ve been saying it for a while now. ‘Kids.’ But I don’t see any ‘kids’ in this room.”

B-because they’re Warriors! Kruger gets it! Kruger-

“All I see are filthy Eldians.”

…

Reiner wonders why he feels so shocked.

In the end, Kruger is a _Marleyan_ Hero. He wasn’t someone that those with the devil’s blood flowing in their veins can admire. This must have been why Marcel chose to hold his judgement. He must have suspected something like this. And Reiner, being the idiot that he is, just believed naively in the image of a hero without any thought.

Kruger lets out a sigh. “If that’s it, then I’m returning to my hotel.”

“Lieutenant Kruger, I insist that you give us a chance to prove you wrong,” Marcel says.

Unlike Reiner, Marcel looks like he’s brimming with excitement. His eyes are bright and clear, almost like he’s becoming giddy at the thought of a challenge. Reiner doesn’t understand how Marcel can be like this. Even if Marcel said he wanted to hold off on judgement, didn’t he also feel a pang of disappointment when he realized the truth about Kruger? How can Marcel look so excited?

“You don’t seem to understand your position. You are a Titan Shifter. Your use exists for as long as you fight for Marley as a Titan. Outside of that, you have no use nor a reason to exist. I don’t use a gun to pull out a nail. As long as my gun can shoot what I need to be shot, its existence is justified. That’s all there is to it.”

“I don’t need you to see us as ‘human’ or as ‘kids.’ But I would like for you to see us as weapons that are useful to the Marleyan forces, whether we’re in this form or in our Titan forms,” Marcel argues.

There’s a twitch in the corner of Kruger’s mouth that looks like it might have been a smile. 

That’s why, Reiner realizes with a start. How did he miss something this important? As always, Marcel must have been able to see the full picture, because he looks like he won’t back down. Commander Magath looks like he’s hiding his own smile behind his hand. And from a quick glance around the room, it seems that everyone has more or less figured out Marcel’s reasoning. 

Kruger is someone from the frontlines of war. 

He might have the basic hatred for all Eldians like the rest of the world. But he is, at the core, someone who has seen the horrors of war firsthand and made the choice to rescue both allies and enemies alike when things got bad. Therefore, their priority as Warriors should be to emphasize their own usefulness to him as weapons. See them not as “Eldians” or “children,” but as tools of war that Kruger can use in battle.

“Alright, Marcel. Let’s see what use you lot have as weapons. To the field, I presume?”

… Huh? D-did Kruger…?

When Kruger realizes that no one has made a move towards the door, he glances back at the Warriors curiously.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“H-how did you… know my n-name?” Marcel stammers.

Kruger stares at him blankly for a second. They know exactly when it sank in because his face turns beet red. He quickly turns away from them and marches out the door, while pulling his hat down as lowly as he can. No excuses, no reasons. 

The famed War Hero turned tail and ran.

They all stare blankly at the door for a few more seconds before scrambling to follow after him.

Reiner gets the feeling that his initial view of a kind and generous War Hero might actually not have been too far off.

 

*

 

“L-L-Lieutenant! T-that’s enough!”

Eren kicks down one more time into Marcel’s gut before taking a step away. 

The kid curls in on himself, holding his stomach tightly as his little body shakes. The rest of the kids are on the ground, too, in similar positions. Few of them might have broken bones. Eren wasn’t really paying attention to how much force he used. But he made sure not to play favorites, so they should all be equally bruised. Or something like that, anyways.

Although he supposes that is quite unfair for the two regular kids who cannot heal themselves. Porco and Colt, according to the file Eren had already committed to memory after his talk with Willy. Perhaps he should have gone lighter on those two?

At the very least, this kind of bloodshed should stop the kids from getting too confident and stop the damned hero worship from Magath and the rest of the Marley soldiers here.

Magath looks horrified as he stares at the fallen kids on the ground. The other soldiers who had been casually watching earlier all seem to be staring at the field, slack-jawed.

That’s right. Eren Kruger is a monster, through and through. Get that through your thick skulls. Children? Women? Elderly? He doesn’t care. He’ll beat them all down with no regards. Anyone he deems an enemy will receive the same treatment, no exception. That's the only way to survive while keeping his Titan hidden.

“I’m disappointed,” Eren says, just loudly enough for the kids to hear. 

“We’re not defeated!”

He thought it’d be Marcel. He thought the quick-witted child will be determined to charge forth with the claims that they’re “unbreakable weapons.” At the very least, that’s the angle Eren himself would’ve taken. “I can heal any fatal injury. You never have to worry about using me as a shield.”

But it’s Porco that staggers upright. It’s Porco and his murderous eyes that are locked on Eren. Porco and his lips drawn back into a feral snarl. Porco without a single ability to heal.

Damn this kid for looking so much like the Eren Jaeger of a long ago past that he thought he had abandoned.

“It’s… it’s not over…”

When Eren moves towards him, Magath yells at him to stop. But no one physically stops Eren. Then again, no one here really knows how Eren works.

This is something that Eren will only be able to do before his squad members get here.

So he’ll take full advantage of it.

Eren leans down and lightly taps the back of Porco’s neck.

“If I aim for this area right here, none of your Titan Shifter friends will be able to survive. Then again, I doubt someone without that ability will be able to survive either. You so foolishly said that it’s not over, but can you back that up?”

But Porco has one thing that Eren Jaeger never had.

Porco has his brother.

“Marcel!”

The small body hit Eren from the back. The force is light enough that Eren probably could have ignored it. But these damned kids are smarter than Eren realized. Marcel goes for the back of his knees, kicking down as hard as he can as if in revenge. Eren’s knee has no chance.

He falls to one knee before Porco’s grinning face.

“Still disappointed?”

Damn.

To think he’d be outsmarted by bunch of kids.

“Pfft.”

It’s probably his own dissatisfaction with himself. It’s probably all the regret that he’s been carefully hoarding in his heart for far too long. It’s probably the weight of the sins that has been slowly sinking him further and further down into the abyss. 

It’s probably the realization that he has found someone to pass the Attack Titan to.

“Hahahaha!” 

Eren bursts out laughing.

He can feel everyone staring at him. He can feel their curiosity and confusion. But he doesn’t know how to explain this feeling to them. The insurmountable grief and despair that have always haunted him, coming out now as a bright and bubbly laughter that he thought he’d lost along with the “Eren Jaeger” part of him.

By the time he finally gets himself under control, the kids have gathered behind Porco. There are steam coming off of the Shifters. They’re supporting Colt, but Porco refuses any attempts to look at his injury. Magath stands besides Eren, holding out his cap that must have fallen when he was fighting these kids.

“Thank you,” Eren says, accepting his cap back.

Magath leaves his hand out. Does Eren look so pathetic that he needs help standing up? After a second’s debate, he decides that it’s fine to be seen as pathetic. 

“Not what you expected, Lieutenant?” Magath asks him with a grin.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re strangely attached to Eldians,” Eren warns him.

The kids look disappointed at those words. How young and naive. But he supposes it’ll be much more alarming if they understood the meaning behind his words at that age. 

“But as weapons, I see potential.”

It breaks his heart to see the kids grin so widely at such cruel words. Is this really better? To be seen as things and not even as human? Is that really better than being Eldians?

“Now that we’ve worked up an appetite, shall we have some sweets?”

 

*

 

The suspicious brown bags from before are all filled with baked goods. Various sweets are laid out before the Young Warriors on plates with tea. Marcel is impressed with this wide variety presented for them when they return back inside after fighting Kruger. 

“F-f-for us?” Bertolt whispers in awe.

“They’re all mine,” Kruger tells him rather seriously.

Marcel can’t help but to stare at the man in disbelief. All of this? This entire feast of baked goods are all for the War Hero to eat alone? And yes, Marcel considered that Kruger might be someone selfish and gross, completely opposite of what the media wants you to believe. But this is-

“But since you guys defeated me, I figured I’ll let you have one.”

Kruger makes it sound like he meant to be defeated. And if not for the light flush of his cheeks, Marcel might have bought it. Did this man go out of his way to buy all these sweets for all of them? Did he pick this huge variety because he didn’t know what they might like? 

The War Hero Lieutenant Eren Kruger is not at all what Marcel expected.

He’s not a spiteful man who will never entertain the idea of seeing Eldians as an equal. He is not a battle-hardened man who never lets his guard down, even against children. He is also not a complete and utter disappointment who has been built up too much by the papers to ever reach that ideal.

Instead, Kruger is a man who seem to detest letting people get close. He follows the Marleyan ideology and thought patterns, but they echo hollowly from his lips. If he were truly against Eldians, he would never once entertain the thought of turning them into useful weapons outside of their Titan forms. There are surprisingly kind sides to him that he hides behind an icy exterior. And even then, he seems prone to embarrassment and mistakes. 

When the interviews in the papers said that Kruger’s men loved him, Marcel assumed it was just lip service. But it seems that this might be a rare man who deserved those words.

“What are you guys waiting for? Eat,” Kruger tells them, a bit forcefully.

What an awkward man.

Marcel tries to stifle his giggles as he picks up something random. He doesn’t know what the bread is called, but it’s triangular shaped and smells distinctly of strawberries. It seems everyone is watching him eat first. Alright, here goes.

He bites into the bread and is surprised by the soft crunch. The outside crust is slightly hard, but it still breaks easily in his mouth. He realizes belatedly that there were small crystallized sugar sprinkled on top of it, adding extra sweetness to it. The strawberry and jam (? is this jam? Whatever it is, it’s sweet) mixes well with the bread. It’s sweet and crunchy, yet easy to eat. Seeing him eat, the other Warriors dig in.

“What is this?” Marcel asks Kruger once he swallows.

“Hm? Never had strawberry turnovers before?” 

“Never,” Marcel says. “Porco, try one. It’s delicious.”

… Right.

Both Porco and Colt were taken to the clinic to have their injuries looked at since they can't heal. 

The role of distraction shouldn’t have been Porco. But Marcel doesn’t think anyone else would’ve been able to attack Kruger like he did if Marcel was the one distracting him. If Marcel had been the one to distract Kruger, then most likely, everyone would’ve just stayed on the ground to watch Marcel get pummeled again. Their trust in him would've made them believe foolishly that he could handle it on his own.

“Here,” Kruger says, handing one of the now empty brown bag over. “Take some to the injured kids.”

He picks up a fancy looking bread and bites into it. While holding the bread in his mouth, he pours himself a cup of tea. He then sips the tea delicately. Completely opposite from the large bites he takes from the sweets. 

Since Kruger seems to not care about how many of the sweets they actually eat, Marcel begin to pack some to bring to Porco and Colt.

“May I ask a question?” Reiner asks Kruger.

The War Hero just makes a lazy motion with the hand holding his bread. Reiner takes that as a yes.

“Why did you decide to be a soldier?”

Kruger’s hands still. After a second of pause, he takes a sip of his tea, pretending that nothing is wrong. 

“Tragedy of  Silvis,” is all he’ll say on the topic.

But to be honest, that’s all he needs to say. 

They’ve already gone over the events of that day as textbook definition of every possible thing that can go wrong going wrong. The alarms didn’t go off when the bandits snuck into the research lab. Eldians who shouldn’t have been Pure Titans at the time (at any given research day, there were maximum of three Pure Titans) somehow turned, completely overwhelming the guards and the townspeople. None of the first responders were prepared to deal with Titans and were decimated immediately. The military and the government were too caught up in the blame game to send back up or any form of help until two weeks later.

After living through something as horrific as that, Marcel feels like he can begin to understand Kruger’s decision.

“It seems your life is tied to Titans,” Annie remarks. “ Tragedy of  Silvis, Glory of Gramina, and us.”

Kruger chokes on his tea. He brings the tea cup away from himself as he coughs. They all watch him surprised that someone so calm would be caught off-guard by a simple observation. Even Magath seems amused as he bites into one of the sweet breads.

“A-are you okay?” Bertolt asks Kruger.

Reiner meekly offers a napkin.

Kruger refuses the napkin. “I’m fine. Just… didn’t expect that.”

“Do you have a lover?” Pieck asks, an impish grin on her face.

But at this question, Kruger doesn’t even bat an eyelash. “Nope.”

“Anyone you’re interested in?”

“No one.”

Pieck raises her brow. “Then… what about a type?”

“Competent people who won’t drag me down.”

How… broad.

“So if we’re good weapons, you’d consider even us?” Pieck pushes mischievously.

Magath makes a face that clearly says that Pieck should stop. Marcel wonders if he should step in before something goes wrong. He doesn’t want to be beaten senseless again, but he also doesn’t want Pieck to get in trouble.

“Sure,” Kruger says with a shrug.

They quietly stare at him, trying to figure out what his train of thought is. He clearly called them filthy Eldians earlier. So why would he suddenly agree to this?

“Do understand, though, that I don’t consider even my own squad competent. So if my bed’s your aim, good luck getting past them.”

That’s why. It’s just that his standards are so high that he knows with certainty that they can never meet it! How haughty. But Marcel supposes that’s just part of being a War Hero. How many people have already offered themselves to him?

“Uh… h-how do you have a squad even though you’re a Lieutenant? I thought that was for Captains and higher…?” Bertolt asks nervously.

“Oh, that.” Kruger sips his tea again. “They’re not officially my squad members, since I don’t have a squad. But everyone calls them that as a joke, since they always volunteer to follow me on suicide charges. They should be joining us once their transfers go through.”

“This is the first time I’m hearing this,” Magath says in alarm.

“It was my condition for them to move me here. Jeesh, the higher ups are as messy as ever if they forgot to inform you.”

“Lieutenant, how old are you?” Marcel finds himself asking suddenly.

Kruger glances at him. “18.”

That… can’t be right.

“I… was under the impression you can’t join the military until you turned 18? But you’ve been with your division for years, haven’t you?” Marcel asks.

Kruger waves his hand carelessly in the air. “I lied about my age to join.”

Was the events of  Tragedy of  Silvis that impacting for him? That he’d lie about his age to join a military organization? For the rest of the Young Warriors, they chose to join in order to grant their families an Honorary Marleyan status. It was purely selfish motivation. But Kruger…

“And how old  _ were _ you when you first joined?” Magath asks, his lips pulled back into a scowl.

Kruger doesn’t seem bothered at the angry look on Magath’s face. “15 or 16? It was a while back.”

“… Didn’t you say you abhor dishonesty?” Bertolt points out.

That breaks Kruger’s composure. His cheeks flush red, and his lips pull into a defiant frown. “T-that was when I was naive and young.”

“I’d say you’re still naive and just as young,” Magath says with a sigh. “A War Hero at the age of 18?”

Kruger’s priorities seem quite strange, Marcel thinks. He finishes packing the bag and informs everyone he’ll be taking these to Colt and Porco.

 

*

 

Eren collapses on the couch the minute he returns back to the hotel. He thinks he vaguely heard Magath warning him to be ready for tomorrow back down in the lobby, but he doesn’t really want to care about that.

Damn, what brutal kids.

If Eren didn’t have the Attack Titan to heal minor things like bruises and muscle soreness, he probably would be aching all over right now. But to be honest, this kind of selective healing is more tiring in the long run. If no one from his squad was coming, he could’ve done a complete heal and pretended that he was never injured once. But that wouldn’t work on people who already saw his scarred body.

Not to mention, the value of “War Hero” goes down if he doesn’t have even a single scar as a medal.

He blindly reaches for his half-empty bottles of alcohol that should be on the ground, only to hit air. Right. Magath cleaned up for him, didn’t he?

With a tired sigh, he forces himself out of the couch to find one of the bottles to drink from.

“Every single one of them are out to get me…”

He pauses.

What’s that sound?

It sounds like there’s something high-pitched screaming that’s just barely in his hearing range. Doesn’t that sound a bit like…?

A bomb?

He reaches the balcony just as it goes off.


	3. The Home of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short chapter. >_>

The picture the media pushes out for the promotion of their War Hero is not the one Eren thought they would use. It is not of the moment when Eren received the promotion. Nor is it of the moment when he had a medal pinned to his uniform.

But it is a picture of a moment afterwards.

Eren stands with the government building as his backdrop. The newly pinned medal and his promoted rank is clear in this picture. His uniform cap hides the bandages around his head somewhat. But if you look closely, you can see it. Obviously, his left arm is in a cast, supported by a sling, as it still is due to it being broken and whatnot. 

He vaguely recalls that he was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at the media representatives. So that’s probably why the picture makes him look so imposing. He’s not too big of a fan of it, but he knows that his squad members would hurt someone to get their hands on this.

… He better make sure there aren’t any around when his squad members get here… in like a week? A month? Willy didn’t clarify how soon they’ll be able to arrive.

“… believe you! Who even does that?”

For the last few minutes while Eren has been happily munching on the madeleine cookies Willy’s sister made, Willy has been ranting about the events that transpired. They’re in the private meeting room again. And once again, it’s just the two of them with these cookies and tea between them.

“And you’re not even listening to me,” Willy groans. “Do you like those cookies that much?”

“When the hotel blew up, it took out the box of cookies and the apple pie you got me. A little girl tried to offer me a lollipop as a thank you for my duties or whatever, but everyone around her stopped her because ‘A manly hero doesn’t eat sweets!’ … Hey, do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had any?”

Willy sighs softly before pushing the plate of madeleine cookies towards Eren. “They’re all for you. Don’t worry.”

Eren nods and takes a sip of the tea. “Any clue as to who planted the bomb?”

“Some minor leads, but that’s about it. The bomb was placed in the room next to yours. The hotel staff said that room was occupied by a grumpy old man by the name of Owen Lawrenson. He’s currently on the list of missing people. By any chance, does that name ring any bells?”

It does, actually.

Since it would be suspicious for a Marleyan to be seen constantly near or in the Eldian internment zone, the former Kruger came up with an alias. “Owen Lawrenson.” In other words, “Ow.L.” The former Kruger had thought himself so clever for it that Eren never found the right time to tell him that it was lame.

To think someone will be using a dead man’s moniker to plant a bomb.

“Can’t say it does,” Eren lies.

Willy runs his hand through his hair. “It has to be a fake name. But I can’t figure out who is targeting you. What’s the point of hitting a Lieutenant? And even if they were going after the title ‘War Hero,’ all they ended up doing was make you even more prominent as a hero…”

Eren picks up a madeleine cookie that’s covered in chocolates. Yum, he thinks. It is indeed delicious. Willy’s sister sure has a talent for this. If she ever opens a bakery, Eren will gladly buy out everything. He pauses in enjoying the cookie when he realizes that Willy is giving him a frustrated look.

“Yes?” he asks.

“Why did you run back inside?! You lucked out and dodged the full brunt of the bomb by jumping out the balcony before the bomb went off. And instead of waiting for the first responders and getting your injuries looked at, you ran back into that building! What were you thinking?”

Honestly? Eren had been thinking that he got super lucky. Thanks to the fire the bomb caused, he was able to disguise the smoke from his healing as the smoke of the fire. He was able to save as many people as he did only because of that. Of course, he made sure to leave minor injuries such as his broken arm and a head wound so that no one would suspect his healing ability.

But that’s not something he can freely say to Willy.

He shrugs. “Wasn’t really thinking. But if I have to rationalize what I did… I guess it was something like ‘How can I turn a blind eye to someone who needs my help in front of me?’”

Willy looks like he’s torn between praising Eren and scolding him. He lets out a long groan, rubbing his temples in the meanwhile.

“You’re really amazing, you know that? Anyone you ask on the street will say the same thing. That you were pretty cool when you were a War Hero, but when you went back inside a burning building to rescue as many people as you can, you became a real Hero to these people. To think you’ll just naturally be Helos… I’m really at a loss for words. Now, your squad’s almost religious love for you makes way too much sense!”

Eren nods unconcerned and finishes the chocolate-covered madeleine cookie. There’s some chocolate melted onto his fingers, so he licks those clean.

Willy makes a face and throws a handkerchief at him. “But you need to learn some manners!”

With a small grumble, Eren takes the handkerchief and wipes his fingers. 

“Did you call me to just yell at me?”

“Yes!” Willy exclaims, making Eren flinch at the sudden volume. “Because if you left it at just that, I would’ve been happy to stand back and watch everything unfold. But then you… you go and do this!”

By “this,” he must mean what’s in the newspaper.

Along with the picture of Eren looking imposingly down at the camera is the quote he asked the media to pass along to the bomber. 

“‘My head is right here. Come and claim it,’ is what you said! Why would you intentionally provoke someone who planted a bomb in the room next to yours?!”

Look, Eren is really embarrassed by that, too. He just said whatever popped into his head without much thought to the consequences or what he was actually saying. Actually, to be honest, he’s certain that he said something a little different from what the media reported. But he doesn’t remember what he actually said (It was a few days ago, not to mention he stupidly picked a head injury to not heal), so he can’t even defend himself properly.

“Stop blushing! If you’re embarrassed, fix this bad habit of yours instead!” Willy yells.

“S-sorry,” Eren manages out. He wishes he didn’t take off his cap so he can use it to hide his face somewhat. It’s not a good feeling to be called out about his blush.

Willy lets out another frustrated sigh. “You are my Helos. I can’t have you die from something as minor as a bomber.”

Just a little, Eren wonders how Willy will react when he realizes just how little time there is left. But he supposes he’ll cross that bridge when it comes. Until then, he still have to find and prep the next Attack Titan… Man, his list of things to do before he dies keeps getting longer and longer.

How did the former Kruger deal with this? 

Oh, right. He kidnapped a child and went to live in the countryside. Fine, fine. Calling it kidnapping wouldn't be quite right. Eren did force the former Kruger to do a lot of cruel things, too.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind,” he says evenly.

“Promise me,” Willy demands.

“I promise I’ll think more carefully about what I say.”

Even though Eren promised, he has no intention of changing how he does things. Willy will learn to march to Eren’s tune. Just like everyone else who tried to use Eren.

“By the way, where have you been staying? I didn’t see any notice of your change in residence in the paperworks. It’s still listed as the hotel. But they said that it’ll take at least five-ish years to rebuild everything again,” Willy says.

Eren sips his tea. How should he go about facing this? Should he distract Willy be pretending to be offended that Willy has been keeping tabs on his paperworks? Should he point out just how much power Willy is handing over to him in the guise of a friendly question? Why is Willy revealing just how much he knows about the military’s inner-works?

The answer of what Eren does, by the way, is none of the above.

“I’ve been staying at a place with a nice view of the river.”

Willy raises a brow, but he looks quite happy at those words. He nods delightedly and sips his own tea, finally calm. “That’s great. The river is the best part about Liberio. It’s not too expensive? If you want, I can get the military to cover the cost-”

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s free.”

Slowly, Willy puts his tea cup down. He has a forced smile on his face, but it’s clear that he has a bad feeling about what Eren’s going to say next.

Heh. This is what you get for mocking Eren about his blush.

“I’ve been staying under the bridge. In a cardboard box.”

Willy opens his mouth and then shuts it with a clack. His face is pale as he stares disbelievingly at Eren. Then he must have come to the conclusion that Eren must be serious because he drops his head in his hands, groaning. 

So this is what despair looks like on this man. 

Eren pretends to drink his tea to hide his smile.

“Sorry. That was a joke.”

There’s a slimmer of hope in Willy’s eyes as he looks back up at Eren. 

So of course, he mercilessly destroys it.

“There’s no cardboard box.”

 

*

 

If you asked Porco to define “hero,” he would have pointed to his brother without any hesitation. At least, he would have until four days ago.

The news of the bombing of the hotel that the War Hero stayed in spread through the interment zone just as wildly as it did outside of it (It’s already being called ‘the Bombing of Magna Hotel’). Well, perhaps it’s more honest to say that the news of the heroic deed spread more so than the bombing itself. And after all of that, newly promoted Captain Kruger dared to say something as ballsy as, “Come claim my head,” to the bomber!

It’s so cool that Porco doesn’t know how to react. He thinks he might barf from all the emotional jitters that keeps gathering in his stomach.

“Are you alright? Maybe you should take today off, too,” his mom says worriedly.

Porco shakes his head. “I’m going!”

Oh god, his voice broke. 

Marcel is giving him a worried look, but Porco ignores it. 

The bruises from the small scrimmage against Kruger has more or less healed by now. It wasn’t that bad to begin with. Sure, Porco still walks with a small limp because it still hurts to put weight on his left foot and he hasn’t been able to eat properly because of the kick to his gut, but it really isn’t that bad! Besides, he might have failed to become a Titan Shifter this time, but he’s still a Warrior. 

He still has his pride.

“Lieu… Captain Kruger is supposed to be meeting us today,” Porco explains to his mom, trying to come off as casual. “So I don’t want to skip.”

Neither his mom nor his brother seem all that convinced by his casual act. Porco pretends that they are, though. For the sake of his pride.

“A-anyways! I’ll be taking off!”

He tries to run, but his leg isn’t fully recovered enough for that. If they do any extraneous activity today, he’s going to have to sit out. Just the thought of it is enough to make him depressed. He wanted to show off in front of Kruger. It's really not fair that Reiner got to become a Titan Shifter and not him.

Marcel catches up with him easily. He gives Porco an amused smile.

“Do you like Captain Kruger?”

“T-the sweets were nice. I just wanted to thank him.”

Marcel’s smile turns coy. “Pieck asked him what he’s type is, you know.”

“Huh? Why would I care about that?” Porco asks, feeling a bit confused by what Marcel is trying to imply.

“Because Captain Kruger’s type is competent people. He said he doesn’t care whether we’re Eldians or not as long as we’re competent. Isn’t that great, Porco?”

Although he’s not sure what Marcel is trying to say without explicitly saying it, he feels his cheeks heat up anyways.

“I-I don’t care what he thinks! I just want to thank him for the sweets!”

Marcel hums like he doesn’t believe Porco. “I’m sure!”

 

*

 

Theo doesn’t think he’s the only one looking forward to Kruger’s reaction when he sees the number of presents that everyone has left in his new office that they’ve prepared. Ever since the announcement of Kruger’s transfer, they’ve all worked hard to clear out this office and make it as presentable as they can. But since the Bombing of Magna Hotel, they’ve received gifts from the public as well.

Of course, they’ve all gone over those gifts with a fine comb brush. It won’t do to have a repeat of the bombing at their headquarters due to their negligence.

“Thank you,” Kruger says when one of the soldiers hold the door open for him. 

He notices Theo and salutes.

“Commander.”

Theo doesn’t mention the suspicious brown bag tucked under Kruger’s cast. If the Captain decided to pick up some sweets, then that’s up to him. As long as he isn’t late, Theo can overlook it.

“Captain,” Theo greets. “At ease.”

Kruger relaxes and takes the brown bag out to hold it more comfortably. Did he tuck it away to salute? Surprisingly, Kruger is a lot more mindful of manners than Theo expected.

“Walk with me. I’ll take you to your new office.”

The two walk in stiff silence. 

Or perhaps only Theo thought it as such? But there’s a dark expression on Kruger’s face as his eyes glances around the hallway. And Theo has always been pretty bad at making conversation, but that expression makes it even hard to ask about something mundane.

“There aren’t any bombs here,” Theo decides to say.

Kruger looks at him questioningly. “That is a relief?” he asks as if he isn’t sure.

“I mean, you can relax.”

There’s a small pause before Kruger’s eyes light up in understanding. And when that sinks in, his cheeks flushes red and he quickly lowers his cap to hide his face.

“I-I see. I apologize for my disrespect.”

Theo hears something drop, and he turns to see a blushing soldier, whose paperwork is now scattered everywhere on the floor. 

“Pick that-”

Before Theo can finish his command, Kruger is already helping the flustered soldier pick the paperwork from the ground. 

Is this guy stupid? He should be more concerned about his broken arm! What’s he doing something as degrading as picking up paperwork? That should be left to the lower ranks! But despite that, Theo can’t help but to feel a sting of admiration for this almost thoughtless kindness. Kruger probably doesn’t even realize that this soldier most likely dropped the paperwork at the sight of him.

“Be more careful,” Kruger tells the soldier as he returns the paperwork. 

“T-t-thank you, sir! I will be!”

Then Kruger returns to Theo’s side as if nothing happened.

“You… need to consider your rank more,” Theo tells him sternly.

“Did you not want me to pick those up?”

Belatedly, Theo realizes that he did give that command. Kruger must have misunderstood who it was directed at. 

“That command was for the soldier, Captain. Consider your rank and your injuries before you move.”

Kruger nods. “Understood.”

But Theo gets a small feeling that this guy won’t bother taking that order to heart.  He finds himself sighing softly as they resume walking.

“It seems you’re a lot more amiable to orders today, Kruger,” he notes in hopes of lighting the situation.

“The transfer is complete. I am now a member of the Warriors Division. It would be unbecoming of a Captain to not follow orders.”

“… You were scolded recently about that, huh?”

Kruger flinches at the accusation and quickly lowers his cap. The tips of his ears seem to be turning red. This man is surprisingly easier to read than Theo first thought.

Surprisingly cuter, too.

“Here we are. I hope you don’t mind that we’ve decorated it somewhat. Please feel free to change anything you’d like.”

Theo opens the door for Kruger to enter. Immediately, Kruger’s eyes sweep across the room before returning to face Theo.

“S-sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but there seems to be an alarming amount of gifts in here. Have they been placed here by mistake?”

“They’re all yours,” Theo assures him. “Few of them are from us, wishing you well as a member of the Warriors Division. The rest are from the grateful public.”

Kruger slowly walks into the office and spins around. “This is quite roomy. I am but a Captain, is it alright for me to claim this office?”

“It’s fine, Kruger. The higher ups have much nicer offices elsewhere. You and I are the highest ranking officials in this division. Oh, will you look at the time? You’ll have to get acquainted with your office later. The Young Warriors should be here.”

 

*

 

It seems that since the last time Eren saw them, these kids have gained extra stars in their eyes. His hard work of trying to break the hero worship seems to have all been for naught. What to do? He probably won’t be allowed to beat them up like that again.

Actually, maybe he should just kick them around a bit. That should scare them off, right?

“Captain Kruger, are you well enough to walk around?” Pieck asks.

From the way Colt is grimacing whenever he moves and Porco is still limping, Eren is pretty sure that he’s not the one that concern should go to. 

“I’m fine,” he says instead. 

“T-t-the s-sweets from last time,” Porco says suddenly. “T-they were good. Thank you.”

Then why is Porco making it sound like he’s trying to pick a fight? If he had a problem with the sweets that Marcel brought him, that complaint should go to Marcel, not Eren. This is why dealing with children is such a pain!

“If you do well today, I’ll share more,” Eren says, shaking the brown bag of sweets he brought.

After a long lecture from Willy about living in a suitable place for a hero, Willy handed Eren a key to a house that apparently the government acquired some time back. From the sounds of things, it wasn’t taken for the sake of being turned into Eren’s house, so reluctantly, Eren accepted it. It’s a huge enough house that he suspects he’s supposed to share with his squad members when they finally get here. And although he wanted to avoid that, he supposes he can’t complain after being given such a luxury.

Or perhaps it’s more correct to say that the reason why he won’t complain was in the kitchen. 

There were two boxes waiting for him in the kitchen. One was a cake with neat lettering that read, “Welcome Home, Captain Kruger.” The other was a box of various sweets. Both are clearly made by Willy’s sweet sister.

The content of the brown bag are the few sweets that Eren didn’t finish eating last night. Since these are so delicious, he doubts the kids will mind.

“Today, we’ll be running light drills,” Theo says, taking command.

The kids focus on Theo like one would expect from soldiers. Eren wonders if he’s the only one who finds this infinitely sad.

 

*

 

“Lieu… I-I mean, Captain Kruger?” 

Kruger glances at Bertolt, who nervously fidgets with the hem of his shirt.

“Yes?”

“A-are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Kruger replies coldly.

Bertolt flinches at the tone of voice. 

He’s about to make a hasty retreat when Kruger continues with, “Why do you ask?”

“You… uh… Your expression is dark.”

There’s a small pause as Kruger closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens his eyes again, his expression is a lot more neutral.

“I’m fine,” he repeats.

This is going to be rude. Bertolt knows that. But his curiosity gets the better of him.

“I thought you didn’t like dishonesty.”

Kruger’s lips twitch in amusement. He glances to Bertolt with a wry look that seems a little kinder that Bertolt thought he’d receive.

“You caught me. I have a bit of a headache from the lack of sugar.”

Bertolt has no idea what to do with this information. He doesn’t carry any kind of sugar or sweets on himself. He doesn’t really like it all that much. But if Kruger is suffering from a headache-

“Don’t worry about it. It’s common enough that I’m used to it.”

“T-tomorrow, I’ll… b-bring sweets,” Bertolt promises.

Kruger glances at him in surprise. He allows for a small smile.

“Please don’t. I don’t trust Eldian sweets.”

The smile doesn’t match those words at all!

Bertolt quickly drops his gaze to the ground. “I-I’m sorry for assuming.”

“As long as you’re aware.”

“Hoover, your turn!”

“Y-yes sir!”

 

*

 

Theo finds the lights to Kruger’s office still on long after the Young Warriors have been dismissed. Curious, he knocks on the door and lets himself in.

“Shouldn’t you go home to rest?” he asks.

Kruger is writing something on what looks to be expensive looking paper. He pauses a bit to greet Theo and then resumes writing.

“I will after I finish.”

“What are you doing? You shouldn’t have so much paperwork already…”

Theo trails off when he realizes that these must be letters. That’s right. Kruger never got the chance to mail these since he spent the rest of that day with the Young Warriors and when he returned to the hotel, the bomb went off. Is he rewriting all the letters from memory? Not for the first time, Theo feels his heart weeping for the young man in front of him.

“It’s not work-related,” Kruger tells him without glancing up.

“Do you want some help?”

Kruger shakes his head.

Yeah, Theo figured. It’s probably insulting to ask, now that he thinks about it. “I’m going to head home now. Will you be fine going home alone?”

Because the last time Theo dropped Kruger off, the hotel exploded. At the time, he had been frozen to the spot, not comprehending what has happened. Kruger found him like that and reminded him to call the first responders before running back into the hotel. Someone who keeps his calm during a crisis situation while prioritizing the lives of the people around him…

Someone like that can only have a tragic future awaiting them.

“I’m not a child, Commander,” Kruger says, finally looking up from his letters.

Yet Theo can’t quite believe those words.

“I see. Be safe when you head back.”

Although worried, Theo knows that he can’t hover around forever. He has to trust in the Captain to take care of himself.

With a soft sigh, Theo takes his leave.

 

*

 

Bertolt stares at the food in front of him for dinner. 

“Is something wrong?” his mom asks.

“N-nothing’s wrong,” he says quickly as he begins to eat.

But he can’t get the conversation out of his mind. Is it true? Does food made by Eldians taste differently? Or is that just something that all Marleyans believe?

Whether true or not, he supposes there isn’t much that he can do to change the War Hero’s mind when it comes to Eldian food. But he does want to help out with Kruger’s headaches.

Sugar-deficiency, was what Kruger said. But he clearly distrusted Eldian sweets.

So then what should Bertolt do to help his new Captain?

 

*

 

“What are you guys doing?” Theo demands.

The soldiers and janitorial staff alike are both crowded around Kruger’s open office door, whispering furiously at one another. When they hear Theo’s voice, they all straighten and greet him.

“Never mind that. What are you doing?” Theo repeats.

“C-Commander, the thing is…”

With that, they make helpless motions at the open door.

From here, Theo clearly sees that Kruger must have fallen asleep while working on those letters last night. Kruger’s leaning heavily against his right arm that has long released the fountain pen he had been using. That can’t be a comfortable position. But at the very least, the small movement of Kruger’s chest assures Theo that no foul play has happened here.

“Go get a blanket from the stockroom,” he orders one of the soldiers. Then to the rest of them, he adds, “Let’s let the Captain rest.”

When Kruger is more awake, Theo will make sure to give him a firm lecture on not using the office as his house. 

Honestly, and he wonders why Theo treats him like a child…

 

*

 

His shoulder hurts. His neck is stiff. He shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that. He is sorely tempted to try healing himself, but he’s too worried that his steam will give him away. Especially in a room filled with other Titan Shifters.

He should have asked one of the soldiers to run to a bakery to pick him up something sweet to eat. Damn it. Curse his lack of foresight. And now he’s starving and sore, and just a second away from lashing out at something, anything.

And instead of running drills today, the Young Warriors were sitting in the classroom, going over military strategies from past battles. If this is Commander Magath’s way of punishing Eren for sleeping in the office, Eren gets it. He’ll never do it again.

He can’t even kick the Young Warriors for stress relief.

“Captain? You look horrible,” Marcel tells him during their break.

“Good. I look how I feel,” Eren grumbles.

He lowers his cap grumpily and crosses his arms in front of himself. He’s situated at the corner of the room so he can watch everything. The Instructor is currently talking to Magath, possibly about the next topics. And now that it’s break, the children have gathered around in a small semi-circle around Eren.

Please, spare him.

Their worried gazes makes him want to fidget. But if he can pretend that he’s asleep, surely they’ll leave him alone? His mood is bad. He’s bound to explode at them, if they keep crowding around like this. Can’t they just-

“Captain.”

Bertolt’s voice is calm for once. That’s the only reason why Eren turns to him without losing his temper.

“Yes?” he asks. He tilts his head back so he can see the kid from under the cap.

With a determined look on his face, Bertolt reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small candy. He places it on Eren’s leg.

“It’s manufactured in a factory, so it’s not Eldian-made,” Bertolt explains quickly but determinedly. “P-please accept this.”

…

Is he an angel?

With shaky hands, Eren slowly picks up the candy. He rips the wrapper and puts it in his mouth. Apple flavored. Eren decides that apple will be his favorite flavor for the next month.

“Bertolt,” he says, struggling to keep his voice as even as he can.

The child flinches and stares at him nervously.

“You saved my life. Thank you.”

With that, Eren leans back and relaxes, closing his eyes to enjoy the flavor. He ignores the children’s soft exclamations and soft whispers to one another. Whatever conclusion they decide to draw from that, please let it be to shower Eren with more sweets.

Thinking such selfish thoughts, Eren allows himself to look forward to being part of the Warriors Division, just a tad.


	4. The Kittens of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, let's play a game! 
> 
> Keep count of all the OCs that die brutally on screen. At the end of this story, whoever gets the number correct will get an one-shot of whatever ship/theme (please SNK/AOT fandom only)! Note that the OCs have to die on screen. So all the OCs that are implied to have died during the bombing of the hotel or previous events such as Tragedy of Silvis do not count since no one had an on-screen death unless there's a flashback. Got the rules?
> 
> That said, we're going to have some brutal, unnecessary violence and needless gore in this chapter as well as some OC deaths (remember to tally those up!). So if that's something that you're not interested in, please stop once the nap scene is finished. Keep yourselves safe, guys.

Captain Kruger comes in that rainy morning, drenched, without any umbrella or sign that he’s noticed the rain. He takes off his cap and puts it on the table to dry and turns to the rest of the Young Warriors seriously.

“Hey,” he says.

“Good morning, sir!” Marcel salutes, quickly followed by everyone else.

“Does anyone here know how to take care of a cat?”

Almost as if understanding that it is being talked about, a small kitten meows and peeks out from inside of Captain Kruger’s jacket.

And thus begins this morning’s dilemma.

 

*

 

“Where did you find him?” Marcel asks Kruger.

The kitten is on Colt’s desk, staring at them in slight alarm. Both Reiner and Colt are watching it by crouching next to the desk, just peering over the edge. Porco looks like he’s doing his utmost best to not reach over and grab the fluff ball. To be honest, Annie feels the same way.

It looks so cute, looking at them as if it can’t decide whether to be on guard against them or to trust them. She has no idea how Pieck and Marcel can look so calm. Even Bertolt is nervously glancing at the cat and looking away, blushing.

“It was by the side of the road next to its dead mother,” Kruger says nonchalantly.

“Oh, poor thing,” Pieck gasps.

“So no one knows how to take care of a cat?” Kruger asks again.

When the Young Warriors all return with negative, Kruger sighs.

Annie supposes it’s sad. This poor kitten lost its mom at such a young age. They’ll probably have to put it at a shelter and-

Kruger pulls out his gun.

… Wait.

As if this is an everyday normal thing that happens, Kruger points the gun at the kitten.

“Since no one can care for you-”

“W-w-whoa! Stop!” Marcel yells.

But the person who moves first is Colt. He stands between the gun and the kitten, eyes wet with fear and tears. And Annie never thought of Colt as someone who was all that brave, but this experience is proving her dead wrong.

She’s not sure if that’s a good thing.

“Move,” Kruger tells Colt without much feeling. “If no one can take care of that cat, it’ll just starve to death slowly.”

The door to the room and Commander Magath walks in as Kruger finishes his sentence.

“I’ll make it quick.”

There’s a small pause as Magath looks at the Young Warriors, Kruger, and the gun pointed at Colt. He seems to be going through an internal debate that lasts about three seconds before he comes to a conclusion.

“If you must shoot, please hit one of the kids who can heal!”

 

*

 

“So that’s what happened,” Commander Magath says, sounding relieved. He looks at the kitten on Colt’s desk before shaking his head. “To think such a small creature can cause so much trouble…”

Kruger has yet to put his gun away. It’s making Reiner rather nervous. Can the Commander please order away the gun before they discuss anymore what to do with this cat?

“Commander, do you know how to take care of a cat?” Kruger asks Magath.

“I’m afraid not.”

Those three words, and the gun is back to pointing at the cat. 

“Kruger, put your gun away,” Magath finally orders.

Reiner isn’t alone in slowly sitting back down as they watch the gun disappear into Kruger’s jacket. For someone hailed as a hero, he can be so…

“You should have just left it there,” Magath sighs. “Even if it’s a child, they know best how to survive in the wild. A human getting in the way of that will just confuse it.”

“I see… I was in the way.”

Kruger sighs, rubbing the back of his neck like a scolded kid. Then he casually picks the cat up by the scruff of its neck. Reiner is certain that he’s not the only one panicking.

With the cat safely balanced on his cast, Kruger opens the window with one arm, letting in the rain.

“W-what are you doing?” Magath asks slowly.

“Hm? I’m getting rid of it.”

“B-by throwing it out the window…?” Colt squeaks.

“You don’t want me to shoot it. You don’t want me to toss it out. What the hell do you want from me?”

Reiner thinks that Kruger is the last person to get angry about this. He’s certain that the others feel the same way, because Magath heaves a heavy sigh and stands up.

“Alright. Let’s ask around to see if anyone has any experience with a cat.”

 

*

 

The Warriors trail behind Magath and Kruger as they walk around the building, asking people if they have any experience with cats. All the while, the cat stays perched on Kruger’s cast, looking quite at home there.

Porco wonders if it understands the dangers of being near this man.

“It’s a cute cat, but I have no experience with them.”

“It’s a wild cat? Just toss it out. They’re good at surviving on their own.”

“Sorry, I’m allergic to cats. Can you not come close to me?”

“Why don’t you guys just take it to the vet?”

“What’s a vet?” Kruger asks the soldier.

Porco can’t hold back his shock. “You don’t know?!”

There’s a faint but defiant frown on Kruger’s face as he glares down at Porco. For once, he doesn’t have his cap to hide behind, since he left it in the room.

“Never heard of one.”

Then again, Kruger has been on the frontlines for a long time. Is Kruger just that oblivious to things? Or do other countries not have vets? Then how do they take care of their pets? When Porco gets a Titan power of his own and is allowed to travel the world like the rest of the Warriors, he’s going to get to the bottom of this. 

The soldier offers a small, amused smile as he answers. “It’s an animal hospital. There’s one couple streets down the main road. Do you want me to take you there?”

“We’ll go after lunch,” Magath decides for them. “Just give me the directions, we’ll take care of it.”

 

*

 

Although the promise was after lunch, they end up going a few hours afterwards. The rain has long stopped by then. The sun dries up any sign of the rain that fell in the morning. It seems like the perfect weather for a stroll. Although the cat was having fun playing around during the morning, it has returned to Eren's cast when they go out.

“It won’t get off,” is what Eren says aloud, but he’s not trying too hard to remove it. If the cat is happy there, then he’ll just let it be. It’s not like it’s bothering him.

“I heard that cats are friendly with people that don’t like them,” Pieck remarks. “Captain Kruger, do you hate cats?”

Straight to the point as always, this one. Eren shrugs.

“I don’t particularly hate them.”

Pieck tilts her head to the side. “Do you prefer dogs?”

Eren shrugs again. “No preference.”

“Really? I thought most people preferred one or the other. Could it be? Captain Kruger, do you not like cute things?”

_ “Here you go, Eren. Grandma made this little doll for you!” _

_ “Mom, I keep telling you to stop making those for Eren. He’s a growing boy-” _

_ “There’s nothing wrong with a boy playing with dolls, Grisha. Besides, Eren loves cute dolls like these, don’t you?” _

… How distasteful. To suddenly think about something from so long ago. Coming to Liberio truly was a mistake.

“I don’t hate it,” Eren tells Pieck evenly. He hopes his distaste isn’t clear in his voice. Because those feelings from a long time ago are things that he needs to keep buried for as long as he can.

Pieck pouts at him, surprising him. “Captain! Your answers are so boring! Your future wife is going to have a lot of trouble with you, isn’t she?”

“That's on the assumption that Captain Kruger isn't the wife," Marcel says lightly.

“‘Competency’ doesn’t have a gender. It can be anyone,” Porco says, looking at Eren like he wants to fight.

Eren doesn't like the mischievous glint in these kids’ eyes. 

“Stop marrying me off to some unknown person,” he scolds. “I’m going to be a bachelor until I die.”

That feeling of immense loneliness and grief after losing the previous Kruger is something that Eren doesn’t wish even on his enemies. Put someone else through that? Not a chance. He’ll find a random person to pawn the Attack Titan to after stalking them for a long time to make sure it’ll be a good fit. Just like the previous Kruger was doing to Grisha before Eren got involved.

Well, he supposes that means Porco is off the list of potential candidates. What a shame. But in the same breath, that’s probably better. Eren shouldn’t take both Galliard boys from their parents. That would be too cruel. Instead, he should look for an adult who has already figured out what they want from their life.

“You’ll make a lot of people sad if you stay single,” Reiner tells Eren worriedly.

“Kruger, you’re young. You still have plenty of chances to meet someone special,” Magath says. He pats Eren’s shoulder as if that’s supposed to be comforting.

“It’s not a matter of meeting someone. I’m sick of losing them.”

… He said that out loud, didn’t he?

Eren absolutely hates the wide-eyed stares the children and Magath are giving him. He feels his cheeks burn as he pulls his cap down. Leave him alone, already. Or at least say something to change the topic. This is embarrassing as hell!

The cat on his cast meows, mercifully giving him a distraction.

“Hm? Are you hungry? I suppose you must be. You haven’t eaten the whole day.”

“Captain, you can’t give it candy,” Bertolt warns him.

“Or any kind of sweets,” Annie adds.

Just what do these kids take him for?!

“I… wasn’t going to…?”

Colt gives him a suspicious look. “That didn’t sound very confident, sir.”

Just leave him alone already!

 

*

 

They probably should have thought about this a little bit more.

After all, this is a vet on the Marleyan side of the town. To bring a bunch of Eldian children in, even if they’re Honorary Marleyans, is in bad taste. The customers are shooting them uncomfortable looks (To think not even Kruger's presence as the War Hero won't be enough for these people… Actually, it's more likely that they just don't realize that Kruger is the War Hero). Theo better direct the kids-

“Commander, I’m going to smoke,” Kruger says suddenly. 

He tries to tug the kitten off of his cast, but the kitten meows furiously while digging its claws in. With a soft sigh, Kruger just… 

Takes off the cast…

And gives the kitten and the cast to Theo as if this is a normal occurrence.

“I’ll leave it to you, then,” the bastard dares to say.

Then Kruger turns to leave, motioning silently for the Young Warriors to follow. The kids, because they’re smart (and possibly because they’re worried about the fact that Kruger just took off his cast), rush to follow after him.

Theo stares at the kitten that meows distressed at him. It seems that its claws are now stuck inside the cast. Is that why it was so obedient and calm? Because it was stuck?

“You’re about as much trouble as that guy,” Theo finds himself sighing.

He should also see if someone here can take this kitten in while he’s here. Somehow, taking care of yet another kid is not how he imagined Kruger’s transfer to the Warriors Division to go.

 

*

 

“… I don’t mean to be rude, but that’s uh…” Marcel trails off, looking at a loss for words.

Eren raises a brow as he tucks the lollipop wrapper in his pocket. “Just say it. Hesitancy is annoying and can get you killed on the field.”

“That’s not a cigarette,” Marcel manages to finish.

“It’s not,” Eren agrees. “It’s more healthy.”

The damned kids dares to look at him in disbelief. How annoying. When Eren was in the frontlines, how he handled annoying squad members was… 

He pulls out the rest of his lollipops from his pockets and holds it out to them.

“I won’t tell the Commander if you don’t tell.”

These kids have a good future, Eren thinks. They react the same way the soldiers do.

Excited “Thank you”s are flung around carelessly as they grab a treat. Heh. That’s right. That’s the power of sweets. It can make anyone bow down.

“Hand me the wrappers,” Eren tells them, leaving his hand out. “Don’t litter.”

“You’re surprisingly pretty kind, huh?” Annie says around her lollipop.

Eren feels his lips twitch. “There’s no need for ‘surprising’ to be attached to that.”

“No, no. It’s really surprising,” Pieck adds, nodding sagely. “You only called us ‘filthy Eldians’ just once.”

Have they been counting? That’s troublesome. He should throw it around as an insult a few more times to throw them off. But it’s so annoying to figure out how to time that. Because if he doesn’t carefully word this insult, he’ll end up making these kids grin knowingly at him, which is so damned infuriating. Whose bright idea was it anyways to put together this many talented children together in one division?

“I didn’t realize you wanted to be insulted that badly,” Eren says lightly.

They protest loudly and gather around him like ducklings while clamoring to be heard. Why are these children so much like his squad members? Or perhaps this is just how people are around him? Somehow, the thought makes him quite tired.

“Didn’t you guys want to be considered as ‘weapons’ and not as anything else?” 

“But you treat us like kids anyways. In the end, Captain, aren’t you just being dishonest as always?” Marcel asks him with a giggle.

“Brat, return me my lollipop.”

Marcel laughs. “See? How can we be weapons for you if you call us brats?”

Eren’s pretty sure he’s just calling Marcel that. But he doesn’t want to get into an argument with a smart brat. That just sounds like a lot of wasted effort.

“I’m feeling tired. Let’s wait for the Commander at the best spot.”

The kids look at him curiously but follow. If only they’ll just stay quiet, this will make this walk much more bearable. But as they walk, they immediately ask him about pointless things about his hobbies and his likes. How the hell would he know? All he’s done in the past few years is fight on the frontlines while getting yelled at for eating sweets. Does he even have a personality at this point?

“Oh, the riverside?”

The place where the previous Kruger met Grisha for the first time. The riverside by where the airships are kept. The place that could probably be considered the previous Kruger’s favorite place to be.

_ “It’s too bad that we’re not in Liberio anymore. There isn’t quite a place like there to nap.” _

That damned lazy guy used to nap in a nice location like this while Eren went off to the frontlines. Then again, the previous Kruger did tell him to live quietly tucked away somewhere instead of joining the military. 

Like hell he can do something like that.

“There’s no place quite like here to nap,” Eren finds himself echoing even though he has never been here himself. 

His grandparents warned him of this place, though. And vaguely in passing, Eren recalls his dad mentioning Aunt Faye in relation to this place. But that is a memory from a long time ago, and he doesn’t want to see the broken and mangled body from the previous Kruger’s memory. He has his own corpses to recall.

Eren plops down on the grass and closes his eyes. If they came closer to noon, he feels like this would have been too wet from the rain in the morning. Good thing they were busy until now. 

“Captain, your cap!”

With that, Reiner returns Eren’s fallen cap. When did it even fall?

“Thanks.”

Eren uses it to cover his face. “I’m going to close my eyes for a bit. You guys do whatever you feel like.”

“S-shouldn’t we go back to headquarters…?” Bertolt stammers.

They probably should be able to figure out what to do from here, right? They’re Warriors or whatever. They should be able to make their own choices. 

Eren closes his eyes and ignores them.

 

*

 

“What do you mean they didn’t come back here?” Theo asks the soldiers.

“W-we assumed Captain Kruger and the Warriors were with you, sir.”

Theo massages his temples. This is bad. If it turned out that they were kidnapped, then they have a national emergency on their hands. Would Theo receive a pay cut for losing the famed War Hero? Or would he lose his position as a Commander?

At the very least, those kids are very responsible with good heads on their shoulders. So Theo can trust them to take care of themselves. But Kruger… He’s… If someone were to offer him sweets, Kruger’s the kind of guy who’ll blindly follow them. Damn it,  Kruger! No wonder his squad members didn't want anyone to know about his sweet tooth!

“C-Commander…? Your orders?”

“This isn’t an emergency,” Theo decides. “We’re going to calmly look for them. Calmly. Don’t tip off anyone, got it?”

“Y-yes sir!”

With that taken care of, Theo walks back the direction to the vet. The kitten that he’s been holding meows. Damn that Kruger. Is he planning on abandoning this kitten now? After making so much trouble for everyone this morning, he just ups and disappears? If he wasn’t a War Hero, he would have long been punished severely. In fact, Theo is rather shocked that someone from the frontlines doesn’t have better discipline.

Or perhaps it’s because Kruger is from the frontlines?

This is his way of unpacking the trauma?

Theo sighs. “What a troublesome man.”

The kitten meows a little louder. Insistent, almost. Wait… could it be? 

When Theo lets the kitten go, it runs a few paces before looking back at Theo. He’s always been more of a dog person, but it looks like this kitten is trying to help him. Is this what people call the kindness of animals? At the very least, Theo currently prefers this kitten’s presence over Kruger’s right now.

The kitten leads Theo to the riverside. Meowing proudly, it runs to Kruger, who is sitting there, watching the airships. Around him, the Young Warriors all look like they’re napping on the grass. The kitten paws at Kruger’s lap and meows for attention. 

Did they spend the rest of the time here?

While Theo was at the vet, learning how to take care of this kitten while getting dirty looks from the Marleyan citizens whispering about the Eldians that came in earlier, these guys napped at such a nice location?

He takes off his cap.

“Captain Kruger!” he calls as neutrally as he can muster.

“Oh, Commander. Welcome back.” 

Theo throws his cap at Kruger’s face.

“Don’t ‘welcome back’ me, you damned brat!”

 

*

 

“It seems the cat really likes you,” Eren says as he watches the cat purr as it rubs its body against Magath’s legs.

“No. It’s hungry,” Magath growls. He shoves a brown bag of something into Eren’s hands. “It’s your cat. So feed it properly.”

“Eh? You’re not going to take care of it?”

Magath’s glare is absolutely terrifying. Although Eren’s goal from day one has been to break the hero-worship this man had, this isn’t quite what he imagined their relationship to become afterwards.

“I-I’ll take care of this cat,” Eren says quickly.

The cat, seeing that the food has changed hands, also changes its target. It rubs against Eren’s legs now, purring.

“You’re quite devious, aren’t you?” Eren asks it.

“Just like its master!” Magath grumbles.

Before he leaves, though, he turns back to glare at Eren. “Don’t sleep in the office tonight and go home.”

“The letters are finished, so that’s the plan.”

 

*

 

Despite that, Eren still delays leaving the office until it’s late into the night. 

It’s not quite that he doesn’t want to go to that giant house Willy forced on to him. It’s just… 

He hates this hallway. He hates walking through it. Every single time he does, he feels like he’s five again, sent away from the interment zone for the sake of becoming a Warrior. 

_ “Jaeger? What are you doing here so late? Well, since you're here anyways, come help me.” _

A soft meow snaps him out of his thoughts.

The cat looks up at him with clear eyes that makes Eren feel calm. That’s right. He’s not that naive child anymore. He is currently Eren Kruger, the War Hero of Marley.

“Thanks,” he finds himself whispering softly.

The cat just meows again.

 

*

 

The cat’s ears flatten against its head. There isn’t a hissing sound just yet, but its body tenses, coiling up to bolt.

To think that his own senses will be as good as a cat’s.

Eren can’t help the grin on his face as he puts the cat down. Immediately, it scurries away and stops when it sees that Eren hasn’t moved from the front door. What a silly child. It should run now. Because the true monster isn’t what’s waiting inside of the house. 

It’s Eren.

But that might be a bit hard for this small of a cat to understand.

Eren presses his finger to his lips. “I won’t tell if you don’t,” he tells it.

Then he opens the door.

 

*

 

Whoever is in the house that Willy got him seems to have made themselves comfortable here. Despite the fact that Eren hasn’t been in here for a long while, the air inside the house isn’t stale. How often has this person been moving in and out of here?

The lights to the kitchen is on. There isn’t any smell of food, though. Is that why the place feels aired out? The person cooked and ate and tried to hide the smell?

Eren leans against the door frame to the kitchen. There’s a woman in the kitchen, humming lightly as she flips through a newspaper. She’s dressed in a maid outfit. Did Willy hire her? That sounds like something he would do, but at the same time, it doesn’t sit well with Eren. He doesn’t need a babysitter, damn it.

“Didn’t realize that the house came with a maid,” Eren says.

The woman flinches. She drops the newspaper (there are multiple newspapers on the kitchen table. How long has she been collecting them there? Did she do that for him to read them?) and struggles to get out of her chair. With a fluster that makes her look much younger, she fumbles to stand and bow to him.

“W-welcome back, Lieu… Captain Kruger! M-my name is Flora. I-I was hired by the military to take care of you.” 

… The military? 

Sure, it sounded like Willy controlled bits of the military. But if he was the one who had a hand in this, the maid would doubtlessly say that she was sent by the Tybur family while presenting an offering of sweets. It’s suspicious, but it’s not enough for him to throw a fit over.

“I’m a man who prefers solitude. My plan is to die a bachelor without any lover troubles. So if you could leave, I’d appreciate that.”

Flora’s expression freezes on her face. “Ah… b-but you see… Ahaha…”

What kind of an expression is that? It’s not quite despair, but it’s most definitely not someone who became disillusioned, right? Why is she laughing so nervously?

“If you need to turn in reports so you get paid, go ahead and lie. I don’t care. I can’t stand strangers rifling through my things.”

“B-but if I stay by your side, I won’t be a stranger anymore! A-a-and… I-I can do other duties, too! Things outside of cleaning and cooking. I can service  _ any _ needs-”

“Leave,” Eren tells her.

He turns to leave the kitchen, and it seems that’s exactly what she was waiting for.

A gunshot rings out, followed by a stream of curses from the “maid.” Eren falls to one knee. His hand clutches his stomach where blood is beginning to seep out. How lucky. It’s a clean shot. He can see the bullet embedded into the wall.

“You… You stupid fuck! What kind of a man turns down the clumsy maid act? ‘Leave?’ What? Are you impotent or something? Haha! What a thought! The War Hero Kruger can’t get it up!”

“Shooting me right off the bat like that… And you wonder why I turned you down?”

Eren stands up and turns to face her. He can’t allow himself to heal. Because this injury will have to serve as his evidence. It’s annoying, but it looks like he’s just going to have to-

“Meow!”

That’s the only warning he hears before multiple gunshots ring out. The small body of the kitten isn’t enough to absorb all the bullets Flora showers them with. He numbly feels each of the impact as the rest of the bullets go through his chest. And limply, the kitten’s body falls on the ground, its blood slowly pooling around it.

“Ah, whatever! Just die! I was going to play with you longer. But you’re just so damned boring! Are all War Heroes like you? I thought as a War Hero, you’d be more wild and fun! Ugh! What a disappointment!”

Boring, huh? 

That’s the second time he’s been called that today. It’s a little irksome. What the hell do these people know about him anyways? Boring? He’d kill to be boring. But he supposes that’s a little backwards. But being boring would mean that he isn’t an Eldian pretending to be a Marleyan. Being boring would mean that he isn’t the current holder of the Attack Titan. Being boring would mean that a small kitten that recently lost its mother wouldn’t have tried to protect him.

Damn it. Damn it all.

Why the hell did that damned cat come back? Wasn’t it terrified? Why did it jump in the line of fire?

Faintly, he realizes that he’s going to have to toss out his uniform and get a new one. No one would believe he survived this many gunshots to the chest, and it’ll be less of a headache to get rid of the evidence than to explain it. But instead of logically planning that out so he has an easier time in the future, he finds himself consumed with questions of the cat’s actions.

Did it want to die? To join its mother? Is that why this cat jumped? Because that has to be the reason why, right? Why else would a cat, clearly terrified of what it might find in this house, run back in here?

… To save him?

But didn’t it understand? 

It’s far too late for him to be saved.

Flora stops firing. No, that’s not true. It’s not that she stopped firing. It’s that she can’t. She must have used up all of her bullets in the first round.

“W-what… Why aren’t you falling over? I-is this the pride of a soldier or whatever?”

First, there’s an inkling of a feeling that there’s something…  _ off. _

“W-whatever, I’ll just push you over-”

Second, when you move to right what you believe to be wrong…

Eren grabs her wrist. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?”

Third, the fear finally sets in. 

At this juncture, some people start screaming. But it seems that Flora is the type to freeze in unexpected situations. Because her mouth is agape as her eyes widen. She tries to stammer something, but she can’t seem to get anything past a few “um”s and “uh”s.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me the military didn’t give you my file before telling you to service me?”

“Y-your… f-f-f-file?” she finally manages out.

Eren can’t help but to chuckle. The steam is already starting up. He’ll just heal everything but the first bullet wound. That one, he’ll keep as evidence. But the others are unnecessary. How is it that he’s been in more life-threatening situations away from the frontlines? The world sure works in mysterious ways.

“You didn’t think it odd? That a War Hero from the frontlines in charge of the voluntary suicidal charges will survive every single time? Before the nickname ‘War Hero’ wagged on everyone’s tongues, my nickname was ‘Devil’s Own.’”

The first hit is to her stomach. She falls backwards but seems otherwise unharmed. 

“There are three things you did wrong by approaching me,” Eren tells her as he steps down on her leg. “The first is your lack of research. The second…”

Her screams start even before her bones break under his foot. It doesn’t look like she’s listening anymore, even though Eren wanted to complain a little more. 

Oh well. 

For people like that, reasons and logic does not need to exist. For people like her, “fear” and “devastation” is more than enough.

It pisses him off, though. 

That cat died because of this piece of filth? That small cat that so lovingly rubbed against Eren’s pant leg? That small cat that purred so happily at having its chin scratched? That small cat that the children adored? That cat died because of this person who no longer possesses the ability to speak coherently?

Then it’s fine for him to be a little vicious, right?

Besides, since she drew this much blood from him, it’s only right that he draws just as much (maybe a little bit more) to balance things. 

He told them to come for his head. But they should’ve understood from the unspoken implication that they will have to fight for it.

 

*

 

Theo arrives at the new house that has been gifted to Kruger from the Tybur family about five minutes after the Public Security Authorities does. 

When he arrives, the Public Security Authorities members are pale and trembling. 

“T-thank you for getting here so fast, Commander,” the one in charge of the scene says even though Theo took his time to get here. 

“What’s going on?”

“T-there were gunshots heard by the neighbors that were reported. When we got here… I-I think it’s best that you see for yourself.”

With that, Theo is led into the house. The first thing he notices (cannot help but to notice) is the stench of blood that threatens to strangle him. The second is that Kruger is half-naked, sitting on the ground with his back against the hallway wall. A medic is applying first aid to his bare chest. Since the bandages don’t look too excessive or soaked in blood, Theo relaxes. At least it doesn’t look like this horrible stench of blood is due to Kruger’s own wounds.

Then and only then does Theo sees the small kitten from this morning on Kruger’s lap. Or what’s left of the small kitten, anyways. Bullets have blown clear holes through the poor thing. Its blood is slowly soaking into Kruger’s pants, but Kruger doesn’t seem to care.

“Captain, this isn’t quite what I had in mind when I told you to go home,” Theo says lightly.

Kruger chuckles humorlessly. “It’s not what I had in mind either, Commander.”

The Public Security Authorities member clear his throat and motions for the kitchen. So Theo follows.

It takes him a second to register what he’s seeing. Suddenly, it makes too much sense as to why everyone looked so terrified.

The kitchen can only be described as a bloodbath. That stench of blood Theo smelled when he first walked into the house must have originated from here. He thinks that strange lump in the middle of the kitchen might have been a human body, once upon a time.

“What… happened here…?” 

“There was an assassin,” Kruger answers him without moving from his position. “She shot me, so I retaliated.”

No, even if you retaliate, this kind of excessive violence is… Even on the frontlines of a war, there are rules. There are lines that you must not cross. 

But this is… this is…

“Kruger, these kinds of things are…”

“Yeah, I know. It’s too much. By the time I realized what happened, it was already like this.”

Kruger keeps his head down. He has to be ashamed, right? Did he lose his head when he was shot? Or… Theo’s eyes land on the cat with multiple bullet wounds. More likely, Kruger reacted violently to losing someone close to him.

What was it now? That he’s tired of losing people?

With how much the cat followed after him, Theo won’t be shocked if Kruger had unknowingly made a place for the cat in his heart.

Then if any of the Young Warriors are injured, will Kruger react like this? Or if Kruger was to find his “special someone,” would he get this violent against everyone around him?

“Will you do something like this again?” he asks Kruger.

“Define ‘something like this.’ Do you mean the bloodshed? If so, then yeah. Probably. It happens often on the battlefield. But if you mean someone trying to kill me…” 

“I meant losing your head and the bloodshed, yes. You… also didn’t hesitate against the children either.”

Kruger shrugs. “They’re Eldians. It’s fine. No one will press charges against me for killing them.”

“Your words and priorities seem to shift every time I speak to you. I have no intention of letting an unstable beast near valuable weapons as the Young Warriors. Give me at least one reason to trust you.”

Is that too desperate?

But it was the higher ups that placed this kind of unstable person in the Warriors Division. That means that even if Theo disagrees, he needs to go along with it. But if this person cannot control himself, then Theo will find other missions away from the kids. Those Warriors are still children, even if they’re valuable weapons to the Marley.

Theo refuses to let any of these kids ever be hurt. Not after what happened ten years ago.

Kruger laughs, making the medic next to him flinch. He pulls out a cigarette and a lighter from his pants pocket. Ignoring the worried looks the medic sends him (looks like not even the medic is brave enough to say something to the cause of the bloodshed), Kruger lights it and breaths in.

“Trust? Commander, you’d be crazy to trust someone like me. But if you want a reason, there you go. You can always trust me to be unstable.”

Not a sweet treat, Theo can’t help but to notice. But a cigarette? He feels like this is a clue of something, but he doesn’t have enough pieces of the puzzle just yet. All he knows is that the Kruger before him seems different from the Kruger who greeted him by the riverside next to the napping Warriors.

The only other time Theo has seen Kruger smoke was the second time they met in the hotel room. But somehow, Theo doesn’t think that the cigarette might be the hint. Rather, the circumstances of when Kruger lights one is.

“Take the next two days off to clean this mess,” Theo tells him.

Kruger stares at Theo for a second longer than necessary. Then he smiles. “For a man terrified out of your wits, you sure are calm, Commander. It’s quite admirable.”

Theo wonders how far the influence of a “War Hero” goes, because he finds himself flustered at the compliment.

 

*

 

Eren, because he’s a petty child at heart, takes off five days.

But in his defense, the first one was spent trying to clean this mess (and burying his cat). The second was spent talking to Willy (Flora was, obviously, not hired by the military. Willy has no idea where she came from. Apparently, all of her files lead to dead ends as if they were all forged. It seems to have made Willy quite annoyed). The third was dealing with the media that somehow heard about the assassination attempt and tried to spin it without making him out to be a murderous monster (which, ha). The rest of the days, though, he has nothing to say to defend himself.

He just felt like taking the time off.

Magath’s veins look like they might pop when he comes to pick up Eren in the morning of the sixth day. There’s not a trace of terror that was on his face when he saw the bloodshed in Eren’s kitchen. And isn’t that amazing? Even Eren’s own commanding officer that he’s worked with for the past few years still look terrified at times.

“I believe I gave you two days?” Magath growls.

Eren grins. “I believe I warned you not to trust me?”

“Kruger, you’re coming in to work.”

And man, what a guy. Eren has always looked up to people who are able to put aside their personal feelings for work. But Magath seems to be able to throw away his feelings for work’s sake.

“You’re quite a workaholic, aren’t you?” he finds himself teasing Magath.

“This is normal. What you’re doing is called slacking.”

Laughing, Eren follows Magath’s lead towards the headquarters.

“I’m glad you don’t seem as scared anymore. No one wants to be commanded by someone who is terrified of them, you know.”

When Magath turns to glare at Eren, Eren expects a sharp warning or a lecture. He braces himself while grinning widely. 

He doesn’t expect for Magath to steal his cap and ruffle his hair.

“Like hell I’d be scared of a brat like you. You need at least ten more years of combat experience for that, Kruger!”

The cap is returned to Eren, and Magath continues on as if nothing has happened. 

And for the first time since Eren joined the military, he finds himself actually looking forward to working with his commanding officer.

*

 

“Captain Kruger! You’re back!” 

Colt straightens at the sight of the War Hero. The rest of the Young Warriors look just as excited as he feels to finally see Kruger again. The paper mentioned something about an assassination attempt. But it looks like Kruger is feeling much better. He has a new cast on, too. 

“How is your cat doing?” Colt can’t help but to ask as soon as he gets the chance.

There’s a small pause before Kruger realizes what Colt is talking about. He looks rather distressed as his expression falls and he glares at the ground.

“Killed in action while protecting me. I guess I shouldn’t have picked it up like everyone said.”

Although Marcel predicted something like that might happen (what with the assassination attempt and everything), Colt finds himself feeling depressed anyways. But this is not the time for him to feel sad. Kruger is the one who survived someone trying to kill him and lost his cat in the process. 

“Captain-”

The Young Warriors all reach into their pockets and pull out small individually packaged candies.

“Please cheer up!”


	5. The Ghost of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's have some fluff to get our minds away from Ch 119. ^^

“… and when the moon is full, you can feel the blood drip… drip… dripping down… from your spine!” Pieck yells the last three words in hopes of getting a fun reaction from her audience members.

Marcel's smile is strained as if he's doing everything he can to look cool. Porco has a scowl on his face, probably annoyed at himself for jumping at her shout. Bertolt has his face buried in Reiner's shoulder. Reiner looks like he's just about to burst into tears. Annie uneasily glances around as if trying to see if there’s any ghosts nearby. It's only Colt who dares to look bored.

“That’s it?” he says as if everyone else isn’t mildly freaking out.

"You're quite a storyteller," Captain Kruger remarks as he peers at her from under the cap he lowered to pretend to be asleep. But Pieck saw him jump when she yelled. She knows that he’s been listening diligently just like everyone else.

She beams at his compliment. "Were you scared, Captain?"

There's a soft smile on his face that she gets the feeling isn't meant for her. She can't help but to memorize every detail about that smile anyways. The way the right corner of Kruger’s lips quirk up by maybe two millimeters. The almost gentle way Kruger’s gaze feels. The slight wrinkles on his face that suggests laughter on the otherwise stoic face.

"Ghost stories haven't scared me for a long time."

Ugh. How cool. 

She just barely resists the urge to squeal. That’s too much like Porco, and she’s a dignified lady. 

"You won't be saying that when you see a ghost yourself," she insists.

Kruger chuckles and lowers his head, returning to his sleeping posture. “I'd love to be able to see one."

And thus begins today's dilemma. 

 

*

 

“G-g-ghosts don’t exist,” Porco says unconvincingly.

“But if they did, wouldn’t Captain Kruger be super impressed if we brought one to him?” Marcel points out.

Porco gulps thickly. The moment of truth. Is his admiration for Captain Kruger greater than his fear of ghosts?

Before Marcel can get a straight answer to that question, Reiner speaks up.

“The cemetery should have ghosts, right?”

Bertolt begins to nod and then stops. “But if it’s the Eldian cemetery inside of the interment zone, Captain Kruger won’t come.”

And there’s another wrench in their plans. 

The places they have heard to be haunted are all inside of the interment zone in Liberio. In other words, places that Kruger would never agree to come to. Even if they do find a ghost, they’ll have to think really hard about how to get that ghost to their Captain. Either that, or they’d have to trick Kruger to come. And Marcel isn’t sure at all how easy that will be.

“Maybe there are places that we didn’t consider outside the internment zone?” Colt suggests.

“Like where?” Annie asks.

They all fall into a contemplative silence.

“Ghosts like old buildings, right? So the Warrior Headquarters is out since that was recently built,” Porco remarks.

Pieck makes a small sound. “Actually, didn’t they say that it was rebuilt? Why don’t we ask around tomorrow?”

 

*

 

The janitor gives Pieck a pleasant smile. 

“Ghosts? Of course, there are plenty of them! This is a building that was built on top of a tragedy, after all.”

There are 18 janitors who work in this building in rotating shifts. This particularly janitor is one of the three Eldians who handles the most disgusting of all tasks. Pieck hasn’t met the other two since they work night shifts, but Johannes has always been friendly towards Pieck.

The comment about tragedy that Johannes makes is curious enough. But Pieck is more caught up on the fact that there are apparently ghosts in this very building. Isn’t that perfect? All they have to do is stake out here until sundown to see ghosts! Then surely, Captain Kruger will see just how capable and amazing they are!

“What kind of ghosts?” Marcel asks, leaning in with a grin.

The janitor laughs at their enthusiasm. “For one, there’s the will-o'-wisps. They appear as various colors, especially around the lawn at night. They typically don’t harm you and disappear quickly if you approach them. But they are rather breathtaking to see. If you guys stay just a little before the sun goes down, you’ll be able to see them.”

… 

Does this man think that they’re stupid? He’s obviously talking about fireflies. 

A quick glance at Marcel assures Pieck that they’re on the same wavelength. How disappointing. Here, she was hoping that it’ll actually be something juicy.

“There’s some talk of a few goblins in the storage room, too. They only come out when it’s pitch dark and gobble up any food that might be left behind. Sometimes, those pesky things get ballsy and destroy furniture, too.”

That sounds like they have a rat problem. Pieck makes a mental note to casually bring up exterminators to Commander Magath.

“But the ghost that I’m sure you kids are the most interested in is probably that boy.”

“A boy?” Reiner echoes, looking terrified.

Pieck actually gets the feeling that this “boy ghost” is probably some Marleyan kid who thinks it’s funny to sneak in to government buildings at nights for test of courage or whatever. It’s so disappointing that she wants to cry.

“W-what the does he look like?” Bertolt whispers, clearly not having come to the same conclusion as Pieck.

“Eyes like fire that will torch everything in its path… When I saw them, I thought I’d be dragged straight to hell.” Johannes shudders at the memory. “That boy… is probably from that time.”

“That time?” Colt echoes.

There’s a nostalgic look in the janitor’s eyes like he’s thinking of a long ago past. Then he gives them a soft smile. “This building has a short history, but it’s drenched in… rather poor choices that caused great sins, shall we say? Things that should never have happened took place.”

That’s the second time Johannes hinted at some kind of a tragedy. He’s clearly doing this on purpose. But why doesn’t he just talk about it? Is there a gag order? Or does the janitor delight in making them spin in circles?

She glances at Marcel, who nods in agreement.

“Can you tell us about that?”

“It’s a taboo to talk of what happened back then,” is all Johannes says before waving them goodbye and leaving.

… Huh? A taboo?

That brings up more questions than answers, but when Pieck runs after him, she realizes that he’s no longer anywhere within easy walking distance. 

Huh?

Did the janitor run away in a hurry? But why would he do that? It’s not like any of the higher ups are walking around to make sure he’s working. So then… he just… vanished? Into thin air…?

Haha… Look at her thinking that there are ghosts everywhere around them. Most likely, the janitor just ran off because he didn’t want to get in trouble for talking about something that’s taboo with bunch of kids.

She’s worrying over nothing.

“Good morning,” Kruger greets them when he spots them in the hallway. “Did something happen? Why are you guys gathered out here and not in the room?”

… It can’t be that Johannes ran because he saw Kruger coming, right? Is he also a fan of the War Hero? Pieck finds that thought awfully cute of the janitor. 

“That’s just like our Captain. He unknowingly seduced even our poor janitor,” she sighs.

“Don’t spread strange lies about me.”

 

*

 

Theo raises a brow.

“Excuse me?” he asks the Warriors who clearly have no intention of leaving for the day.

“The janitor said that there’s a ghost of a boy that roams the hallways. We will like permission to stay late to deal with the ghost,” Marcel says.

The other children look far too excited about this. And if that was it, Theo can ruthlessly crush their dreams right here and now. But the problem is…

“Ghosts? Sounds fun,” Kruger says. He looks to Theo as if waiting for permission as well. Despite the cold exterior he shows, his eyes are shining in excitement.

This overgrown child. 

“Permission denied,” Theo says firmly. “I don’t want your parents and guardians to worry needlessly. Go home.”

“If we have their permissions, then may we do it tomorrow?” Pieck asks.

Before Kruger got here, these kids would never have dared to ask things like this. But Kruger is proving to be all sorts of the wrong influence. Made worse by how much he indulges them on things like this.

“That seems fair. Keep your schedule for tomorrow night clear, Commander,” Kruger decides for Theo. “Or if you’re too scared, I’ll take care of the Warriors for the night.”

Damn this brat.

“Don’t you mean that the Warriors will be taking care of you?” Magath can’t help but to point out.

But the sparkling, excited eyes of the children (and Kruger) make it near impossible for Magath to refuse.

“I suppose it’ll be a good lead up to overnight missions…”

 

*

 

“But what’s with the ghost of a boy in the hallways?” Eren asks Magath once they’ve coaxed the children to go home for the day. “I don’t remember seeing anything like that.”

As someone who is constantly chastised for staying in the office late, Eren feels like if there really is a ghost of a boy, he would’ve been the first to have seen it. The only other thing he can think of is that it’s actually one of the neighboring kids who are using this place as a test of courage or something.

“I’m sure we won’t find anything,” Magath tells him with a shrug. “Ghosts stories are typically caused by normal, every day things that someone saw wrong.”

Well, Eren supposes he can agree with that. The rumors of the ghost that haunted the battlefield all turned out to be various members of Eren’s squad because they’re always drenched in blood. Not to mention the small squeaking sounds turned out to be a small raccoon that somehow got into their supplies. And if there aren’t any ghosts on such a bloody and death-filled place as a battlefield, then there’s no way that there would be ghosts around somewhere as peaceful as Liberio.

“Have you heard, Commander? If you haven't seen a ghost by the time you’re 18, then you’ll probably never see one.”

“How lucky for me,” Magath grumbles.

“I won’t mind seeing one, though.”

That said, he supposes that he is currently living with enough of a ghost in the form of the previous Kruger’s memories in his head. 

“This place isn’t old enough nor does it have enough of a history to warrant ghost stories,” Magath says firmly.

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Commander?” Eren teases.

The look on Magath’s face is much too serious for this line of conversation. He looks at Eren long and hard before he sighs.

“But if there is a ghost of a boy, then I suppose he must be from that time.”

“That time?” Eren asks.

He gets an inkling of a feeling that he might know what Magath is talking about, though. 

“Don’t you think that this building looks much too modern and new? It’s been rebuilt. During that time, the Warrior Program was put to on hold. That’s why the only Warriors we have right now are those children.”

The former Kruger mentioned something about that. It’s good to know that he didn’t lie, just to reassure Eren at the time. Then again, the former Kruger isn’t the type to be dishonest for someone else’s piece of mind.

“The reason for that rebuilding was because of arson. We never figured out exactly how many people died in that fire. If there are any ghosts in this building, I suspect that they’re from that time.”

That’s all Magath says on the topic, but it’s more than enough hints for Eren. After all, he caused that arson that forced the Warrior Program to shut down for a few years. 

No, that’s wrong. 

Right now, he is Eren Kruger, the War Hero. The one who caused that fire is Eren Jaeger. And as a fitting punishment, Eren Jaeger was swallowed up by those flames and died. That is the official report. He needs to make that distinction clear in his head so he doesn’t accidentally confuse his identities.

“What’s the typical manners to observe when you encounter a ghost? Do we wave at it? Do we help send it on its way to afterlife? Or do we just pretend that it’s not there?”

Magath sighs. “And you’re not even listening to me…”

“But Commander, as the commanding officers of the Warriors Division, should we not have at least this much knowledge to order the Young Warriors?”

Eren is successful in turning the conversation away from the topic of the fire.

 

*

 

It’s not because Theo is superstitious. But this whole talk of ghosts reminded him yet again that Kruger spends much too long in the office. 

He makes sure that Kruger heads home first tonight. 

Honestly, that man is more work than the children sometimes. But Theo supposes that’s part of an unexpected boyish charm to the famed War Hero. At the very least, Theo prefers this part of Kruger a thousand times over to the smoking killer sitting in the hallway, unconcerned by the bloodshed he caused.

While mulling over these thoughts, he gathers his things from his office to head out. He takes a step out into the hallway and freezes.

There’s something that looks like a fire in the middle of the hall. Its golden hue is unmistakable. And perhaps because of that talk with Kruger earlier today about arson, Theo finds himself rushing over to put it out before it can turn into a huge problem.

But when he moves, he realizes his mistake.

The fire disappears without a single sound. There is no movement in the dark hall. Theo is utterly alone in the building and the fire just…

He gulps.

Perhaps there is more merit to the ghost stories than he first gave credit for.

 

*

 

“… A what?” Karina asks as she stares blankly at Reiner.

Reiner finds himself fidgeting under his mother’s gaze. “A-an overnighter. We’re just going to be in the building. But the Commander said it’ll be a good practice for longer missions.”

Marcel emphasized to all of them how important it is to not mention any ghosts when talking to their parents about this. So Reiner is doing his best to do just that. Even though this isn’t technically lying to his mother, he finds himself fidgeting anyways.

“And Captain Kruger will be there?” His mother’s voice is sharper than Reiner expected. 

He nods mutely, terrified of saying the wrong thing to make her mad. But it seems that his worries are for naught, because she smiles kindly at him.

“How wonderful! You get to spend the night with the Captain! Oh, why don’t I make my delicious peach cobbler for you to take? He has a sweet tooth, you said?”

The words “Captain Kruger hates Eldian food” is almost out of his mouth before he quickly swallows them down. His mother is in a good mood. There’s no need to ruin that. He’ll just eat the cobbler himself and lie that the Captain enjoyed the food. 

“He loves sweets!” he says instead.

Reiner basks in the warmth of his mother’s smiles. Becoming a Warrior is probably the best thing that could have ever happened to him.

 

*

 

Pieck realizes that something must have happened last night, because Commander Magath is flighty. It’s to the point that even Kruger points it out.

“… I… might have seen a ghost last night,” Magath says without meeting their eyes.

He is pale and slightly trembling. He keeps his head slightly bowed, refusing to meet any of their eyes. It’s enough for Pieck to believe that he’s not saying those words just to egg them on. It’s clear that he truly thinks that he saw a ghost. 

Pieck finds herself perking up.

It’s true! They are going to find actual ghosts today!

“Since the Commander is clearly not in the mood to teach and we have a long night ahead of us, why don’t we nap for a bit?” Kruger suggests.

And Magath must really be out of it if he readily agrees to it.

Today is shaping up to be the best day ever.

 

*

 

“M-mom made peach cobbler for tonight,” Reiner mumbles as he takes out the container for the rest of the Warriors to see during lunch.

“Yours too?” Marcel says. He looks embarrassed as he and Porco takes out two sizable containers filled with peach cobbler.

“Apple,” is all Annie says as she takes out her apple cobbler.

“Are cobblers in?” Colt wonders as he takes out his blueberry cobbler.

Pieck and Bertolt also have their own container of cobblers, too. Reiner hopes that they’re not peach, because the peach cobblers are most definitely outnumbering the others.

“And we can’t even share these with the Captain,” Pieck sighs.

“You can’t share what with me?” Kruger asks. He pauses when he sees the sheer amount of containers that the Young Warriors brought in. “Homemade food?” he guesses.

“Yes sir. B-but don’t worry. We’re not going to make you eat it or-”

Kruger doesn’t seem to be listening to Marcel as he opens Reiner’s container with surprising dexterity for a man with one arm in a cast. Reiner can smell the peach cobbler from where he is, so he imagines the Captain got a potent dosage for his poor nose. He feels depressed at the doubtless disgust the Captain must feel.

“Spoon,” Kruger says.

It’s not until Reiner has handed his own spoon over that he realizes what just happened. He (and everyone else) watches in frozen silence as Kruger takes a spoonful of the peach cobbler and takes a bite. 

“It’s not bad. Could use more sugar.”

With that, Kruger returns the container and spoon to Reiner as if there’s nothing wrong with this. Like he didn’t make a big deal before about not eating Eldian food. Or that he didn’t just use Reiner’s spoon. Reiner’s spoon that he’s already used, so that’s like… like… 

“For a night snack, it’ll be fine,” Kruger continues. He then glances curiously at the other containers, possibly as if he’s planning on trying all of them before tonight.

There’s a stunned silence for a beat longer then-

“I thought you hate Eldian-made food,” Bertolt blurts out, accusation clear in his voice.

Kruger freezes as if he forgot about that. His cheeks turn bright red as he quickly lowers his cap to hide his face.

“W-would you look at the time? I-I better-”

“Captain! Explain yourself!” Bertolt demands.

For a second, Reiner thinks that Kruger is going to run out on them and pretend that this never happened. But it seems that Kruger is a lot more honorable (is honorable even the right word?) than Reiner gave him credit for. Because he actually turns to face Bertolt with his horribly red face.

“I-if it’s sweets, then I have zero self-control,” he says as evenly as he can while his voice shakes with effort. “If I don’t limit it somehow, then you guys would bring sweets in every day, won’t you? I don’t want to hear, ‘You’ve gained weight,’ from my squad members when they get here.”

… What… What even is this reasoning? Why the hell is a grown man worrying about his weight?

Reiner’s grip around his spoon tightens. Is it normal for him to find the blushing Kruger right now so charming? Does everyone else also feel-

Marcel smiles coldly as he sweetly calls out, “Captain, just run extra laps.”

Guess not.

 

*

 

Their nightly mission starts the minute the sun goes down. The Warriors have been divided into two groups, one led by Magath, and another by Kruger. The two different groups will patrol the building in different directions and meet up in the middle, Magath’s office. They’ll take a break to eat some of the massive amount of cobblers that they have, shuffle the groups so that everyone gets a chance to work with each other, patrol, and repeat the process until dawn.

Porco gets the feeling the reasoning behind it is actually to stop anyone from complaining that they wanted to partner up with Captain Kruger. But to be honest, they’re all exasperated with the Captain after his admission during lunch.

Or maybe that’s just Marcel?

Because everyone else has more or less accepted that that’s just how Kruger is, while Marcel seems to have taken a step away from the Captain. It’s the smallest of details, so Porco won’t be shocked if Pieck has already noted it. But Porco knows Marcel the best. So he matches his pace with his brother’s at the back of the group to talk.

“You alright?”

“Do you think we’ll ever be considered ‘squad members’ to the Captain?”

Porco has no answer to that. “Who knows? Probably not.”

Kruger’s hatred for Eldians seem more and more fake the more Porco gets to know about this man. It feels like he says those things because it’s expected of a Marleyan. But he doesn’t really care about that. If he did, Kruger would be a lot more careful about how he talks to them. He’s too careless and absent-minded to really hate them. To be honest, Porco is starting to believe that this man is not capable of something as terrifying as hate.

“But he does care about us. That much, I’m sure of.”

Marcel is quiet for a beat longer before he finally grins at Porco. “Oh Porco, you’ve become quite an expert on Captain Kruger, haven’t you?”

And Marcel must be feeling much better if he can tease Porco about things like that.

“Damn straight! Unlike you Shifters with your limited time left, I’m going to stay by the Captain’s side!”

 

*

 

The first two rotations of patrols don’t net them anything interesting. 

Theo is about to calm down and chalk the events of last night as a sign that he needs more sleep. When Annie makes a small sound.

They all glance at her, but she’s not looking at them. In fact, her eyes are on…

Theo turns to look and ah, it is real. It’s not that Theo needs more sleep. It’s that this building is most definitely haunted.

There is a small fire in the middle of the hall. The golden hue is the same as last time. But this time, Theo is prepared. This time, Theo isn’t alone in handling this.

“I-is that…?” Bertolt whispers.

Theo holds his hand up to signal to them to be quiet. Then he motions for them to split up. They’ll surround that fire from all sides and-

“Oh, were you curious about what all the sound was?” Kruger asks.

That’s right. They’re pretty much at Theo’s office, aren’t they? It’s time for the two groups to meet up here. Theo will use this chance to… To…

Why is Kruger kneeling in front of the fire with his hand out?

A soft meow catches Theo’s attention. And now that he’s actually looking and no longer frozen in fear, he realizes that the fire he saw was the eye of a cat. The cat settles on Kruger’s cast, looking like they’ve done this a thousand times before. 

“Kruger… what?” Theo clears his throat and tries again. “Explain yourself.”

“Hm? This is just one of the many cats that come and go in this building. I call this one Odin since it only has one eye.”

… H-huh?!

“Cats?” Porco echoes.

“Oh, that’s right! The janitor said that there’s a rat problem in the storage room,” Pieck exclaims.

There’s a what where?! In this building? Theo makes a note to call the exterminator as soon as they open in the morning.

“He said goblins,” Reiner corrects her.

Pieck rolls her eyes. “It’s clear that he was talking about rats… Then maybe the  will-o'-wisps he mentioned aren’t fireflies but the eyes of the cats! Captain, how many cats are around here?”

“A lot,” Kruger answers without missing a beat.

The cat on his cast is rubbing against the bottom of his chin, purring lightly. Seeing that, Kruger reaches into his pocket and… pulls out a snack? Then he holds it up for the cat to eat.

“Captain, you can’t feed cats-”

“It’s dried anchovies,” Kruger answers, interrupting Colt.

Theo allows a moment to let that fully sink in. “Have you… been feeding these cats…?”

“Of course,” this idiot says as if he doesn’t understand what the problem is.

Marcel lets out a small shout. “Oh! Captain, when you see the cats around, do you always kneel down to greet them?”

“Yes,” Kruger says.

They all stare at Marcel, waiting for him to enlighten them.

“Captain, you’re the ghost!”

 

*

 

The group has returned to Magath’s office to partake in the remaining cobblers while debriefing.

“So let me get this straight,” Magath says slowly. “There is a rat problem in this newly renovated building. And that led to bunch of wild cats settling around here. Because of the cat’s eyes in darkness, everyone assumed they were ghosts. And when Kruger here started to feed them, people saw a glimpse of him kneeling down and assumed he was smaller than he was, thus leading to the rumors of a ghost boy. And also because Kruger is feeding them, the cats started to wander inside the building, which resulted in me thinking that there was a ghost as well.”

Eren stifles his laugh behind his hand, but Magath must have heard anyways. He receives a scathing glare from the Commander.

“Pfft… hahaha… You have to admit that it’s hilarious, Commander!” 

The kids at least allow small grins on their faces, so Eren knows that it’s not his sense of humor that’s off. 

“None of this would have happened if you just went home like a normal person!” Magath exclaims.

Eren’s pretty sure that Magath is yelling to cover his own embarrassment. Since it’s rare for the one embarrassed to be not Eren, he decides to milk this for all its worth.

“And miss out on your reaction to seeing a ghost? Not a chance!”

“Kruger, I am still your commanding officer,” Magath says, suddenly serious.

“Yes…?”

Magath allows himself a smug smile. “I can dock your pay.”

Eren grins. That’s it? Pfft. Like Eren cares about having his paycheck docked when he has more than enough money saved up from the previous Kruger as well as his own “War Hero” paychecks.

When that doesn’t get him the reaction he wants, Magath changes his angle.

“And I can forbid you from bringing sweets into the office.”

Eren’s grin falls. “Y-you wouldn’t!” he says faintly.

Magath’s only answer is a grin.

“Somehow, you two seem more like children than us,” Pieck points out.

Both Eren and Magath realizes the truth in that statement. They both look away from the kids, trying to hide their blushes.

 

*

 

Since the whole ghost situation has been resolved (Magath promised that he’ll call exterminators for the rats, which should eventually chase the wild cats away assuming Kruger doesn’t continue to feed them), Pieck decides to do the honors of letting Johannes know of the good news.

But when she goes to look for the janitor, she is greeted with a blank look.

“What are you talking about?” the Marleyan janitor asks her. “We don’t hire Eldians here. There’s just 15 janitors here.”

… Huh?

Pieck is smart enough to not protest against those words to the janitor’s face. Just because Captain Kruger is okay with her saying whatever comes to mind doesn’t mean all Marleyans are. She needs to be careful with her words when she’s not talking to Kruger (or Magath. The Commander seems much softer recently, possibly because of Kruger’s influence). 

She apologizes to the janitor for her mistake and takes her leave as she tries to figure out what’s happening here.

There are 18 janitors. That’s what Johannes said. But now that she thinks about it, she hasn’t seen the other two Eldian janitors. Just Johannes. And she took him at his words, but it seems that he doesn’t actually work here. She assumed at the time that Johannes was shy around Kruger when he left so suddenly, but maybe that wasn’t it at all.

Maybe Johannes was the ghost.

Excited at this discovery, she quickly runs to the rest of the Warriors to share her new information.

“Guys! There’s another ghost in this building!”


	6. The Followers of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of a 2-chapter bits. Just warning all of you now that this one deals with a lot with boring backstories and OCs. So it's fine to skip this one and the next.
> 
> Personally, I'm still not happy with how either of the chapters came out. So I will not be offended at all if you guys opt to skip these two.

“Whew, what a relief. It looks like you’re healing great, Porco.”

Rosen Hartwin is an intern who has helped out at the Jaeger Clinic for as long as Marcel can recall. Everyone jokingly calls him a doctor, but he hasn’t gotten his medical certificate yet. When Marcel once asked about it, Rosen looked like someone asked him why he was still single and sighed, “Taking tests stresses me out too much.”

Porco nods proudly. “Of course! Like that little could keep me down!”

Marcel wisely doesn’t mention that Porco limped for the better part of the week while healing from when Kruger first beat them up (Since then, though, Magath went out of his way to make sure that none of them fought against Kruger again, citing Kruger’s own broken arm as an excuse). Instead, he tries his best to be supportive.

“Captain Kruger didn’t hit that hard. Even Colt healed pretty fast, too.”

“So I’m fully healed, right?” Porco demands. “I have full permission to go on the next mission?”

Dr. Jaeger laughs at the enthusiasm. He glances at Rosen with a wink, signaling that he’ll be taking over. Rosen gracefully steps back. Then he turns to quietly talk to Marcel’s parents, probably about the cost and paperwork without Porco noticing. 

“I don’t know, Porco. Have you been drinking your milk and eating your vegetables?” Dr. Jaeger teases.

Porco makes a face. “I-I have!”

And although Marcel knows he should be on his brother’s side, he can’t help but to slip out, “But didn’t you leave out the carrots during dinner?”

“T-that was…!” Porco seems unable to finish his excuse, too shocked at Marcel’s betrayal.

“That’s no good,” Dr. Jaeger sighs. “Vegetables are very important in healing your body.”

“I-I promise I’ll eat them diligently! Please just let me go on the mission!”

In the end, Dr. Jaeger chuckles at the earnest way Porco pleads and nods. “Alright, alright! As long as you promise-”

“I promise!”

“Pfft… Hahaha! Porco, you’re way too easy!”

“What’s your next mission anyways for you to be so excited?” Rosen asks after collecting the paperwork back from Marcel’s parents. 

This time, it’s Marcel who can’t hold back the excitement. He grins widely at them and declares, “We’re being sent to the frontlines!”

Belatedly, he realizes that those words are not something adults want to hear. Because all the adults’ faces fall.

“F-frontlines?” Dr. Jaeger whispers.

“I-it’s not like we’re going to fight,” Marcel backtracks, knowing that he’ll have to lie to reassure the frightened and worried expressions on their faces. “T-they just wanted Captain Kruger’s experience. So we’re just going like… like a field trip!”

Rosen covers his mouth, his face pale. “What a sick joke… You’re just chil-”

“Enough,” Dr. Jaeger tells him firmly. His expression is stern when he regards Rosen, but it becomes much warmer when he turns to face Marcel and Porco. “You two are brave and strong Warriors. Please take care of each other and bring each other home.”

“Of course,” both Porco and Marcel say.

Marcel gets the feeling that they’ll be having a long talk about this with their parents that night, though.

 

*

 

According to Willy, this ball was supposed to have taken place two days after Eren’s transfer. But between the bombing and the attempted assassination, he pushed “Kruger’s Welcome to Liberio Ball” back and back and back in hopes of tightening security, which ended up with this awkward situation now.

“We’re literally flying out to the frontlines tomorrow,” Eren grumbles.

Magath gives him a look but doesn’t dignify him with a response. 

Eren thinks that’s Magath’s quiet hint for him to shut up and put on a fake smile. But he doesn’t feel like smiling. They should just feel grateful that Magath and he showed up when they have such an important mission tomorrow. Although he supposes that’s not a very “heroic” way of thinking.

And for that matter, why the hell is he being called back there anyways? There’s no way in hell that his lone presence (especially with his broken arm) will be able to change the tides of a battle. War isn’t that simple. And there’s no way in hell that he (or Magath, now that he thinks about it) will ever let any of the children see the frontlines (at least not tomorrow. Maybe in the far off future when there’s no choice). By the process of elimination, Eren will have no choice but to lead his men to death again, all for the sake of this “victory.”

What a headache.

At the very least, he’ll be able to see for himself the reason why his squad members’ transfers are taking such a long time. 

“It is an honor to meet you, Captain Kruger,” the people say with insincere smiles and greedy eyes hungry for something Eren cannot offer them.

“Nice to meet you,” Eren manages out evenly.

He’s rather surprised at himself for sounding so polite. From the side-glance Magath gives him, it seems the Commander is shocked, too. Eren thought for sure he’d sound more bitter. Perhaps this is a sign that he’s finally maturing? 

Hah. What a thought.

“Do you dance, Captain?” the ladies ask, fluttering their eyelashes while hiding their giggles behind open fans.

“Only with death,” Eren says.

And then regrets it right away.

What the hell does that even mean? Why can’t he just be like a normal human being and say something reasonable like “I don’t know how to dance?” Is that so hard? Oh god, was that supposed to sound cool? Because it sounds dumb as hell! 

He feels Magath’s stare, and it takes everything he has to not bolt out of there. He knows, okay? Magath doesn’t have to stare to let him know that it was stupid! 

A low whistle pulls his attention away from Magath’s judging stare. Eren stares at Willy’s grinning face for a beat longer before resigning himself to this fate. 

“Captain Kruger, this ball is in your honor. If you don’t dance with at least one human, I’m certain I won’t be the only one disappointed,” Willy says while keeping a respectable distance. 

The crowd around Eren backs away from Willy, almost as if they’re terrified of his “Eldian” germs. Despite not having an armband on, it seems that people recognize the Tybur family heir regardless. Eren wonders if that’s just the allure the isolated family has on the rest of the populace. At the very least, their attention has shifted from Eren to Magath, giving him and Willy a semblance of privacy.

“Then I’m afraid you’ll just have to settle for being disappointed.”

Willy sighs dramatically. “You’re surrounded by so many beautiful flowers yet you remain so distant. Come now, Captain! Do grace us with your presence on the dance floor.”

But Eren has one more trick up his sleeve. He motions to his champagne glass in his hand without the cast. Surely not even Willy will make someone with a broken arm dance?

“I’m drinking.”

Willy snaps his fingers. A butler nearby holds his empty tray out for Eren to deposit the champagne glass. The insistent look the butler gives Eren makes it clear that he has no choice. 

Well, so much for that trick.

Having no choice, Eren motions for Willy to come close and leans in close to Willy’s ear. “I can’t dance,” he whispers lowly.

It’s not the complete truth. The previous Kruger was surprisingly a social guy (when near other Marleyans, anyways) who liked to pick up hobbies like one would pick flowers. Dancing was one such hobby that the previous Kruger boasted of. If Eren really wants to, he can rely on those memories for a dance or two. 

But why do that when he can use the fact that he never learned how to dance as an excuse to get out of a social function?

Willy actually has the decency to not push the matter any further. Instead, he motions for Eren to follow him towards a more secluded area to talk. Eren takes it as his victory.

“You know, this is barely a fraction of the people I wanted to invite for your welcome party,” Willy begins with a small pout. “I wanted it to be really grand with bunch of foreign dignitaries!”

“That’s a bad idea when my life is being targeted.”

“So I decided to hold this as a test run for the bigger one we’ll have when you return from the frontlines with victory.”

… Eren should have guessed there was more to this.

“Don’t ignore my security concerns.”

“But to think you’ll just stand in the corner with a champagne glass… Honestly, what will I do with you? Do you really not know how to dance?”

It feels like Willy is pitying him. Eren tries not to feel too offended. 

“Never had a reason to learn,” he says. Another security concern question is at the tip of his tongue, but he gets the feeling that Willy isn’t in the mood to hear it.

Willy sighs, looking personally offended by all of this. “No, I guess you wouldn’t have… Alright. I’ll give you three days. Three days after you return with your victory, master at least the waltz. I want you to exude elegance equal to that of a noble gentleman. That means you need to dance.”

“‘My’ victory? Willy, what do you think a battle is? Just because I’m there doesn’t mean-”

“But you have the Warriors at your disposal. Just send them in.”

The distaste he feels has nothing to do with Willy. Although he understands that logically, it’s taking time to click with his emotions. The best thing to do right now is to just shut it all down. He closes his eyes for a second and takes a small intake of breath. Slowly, he releases it and opens his eyes.

Willy is watching him with a calculating look. But when he sees that Eren’s eyes are open, he smiles in a soft manner like he always has. Like he’s looking at a precious friend. A performer, through and through. Hey Willy, which side of you is the truth? Are the goals you’ve shared with Eren truly the only thing you’re aiming for?

“I believe my condition was that you don’t infringe on my jurisdiction over the Warriors?”

There’s a soft chuckle as Willy looks away from Eren. “As I thought… Hehe. Eren, this is why nearly everyone from the frontlines requested a transfer to Liberio.”

… You know, Eren did wonder why that transfer was taking such a long time, especially considering what Willy promised. But he didn’t consider that others will try to take advantage of this. He supposes that was too naive of him.

“Everyone? I only have a handful of people who should be considered part of my squad,” Eren protests.

Willy nods. “Yes. Except that it’s not an official squad, so there’s no written record that I can check the transfer requests against.”

That’s true. But he thought that the crazy people on the frontlines were all there because they liked the bloodshed. Doesn’t this count as running away? They teased him mercilessly when he was sent to Liberio, too. Eren doesn’t understand their thought process. 

“Then can I pick up my squad members while I’m there?”

“… Even if I say no, they’ll probably just follow you back, won’t they?”

Eren grins. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

Willy chuckles and allows a comfortable silence to settle between them. Then… 

“You’ll be careful, right?”

“I won’t stuff them inside of barrels to bring them back, if that’s what you mean.”

“H-huh? Pfft… haha! N-no! I mean… tomorrow. When you’re on the frontlines. Promise me that you’ll come back safely.”

Just a little, Eren wants to jokingly say that he’ll rush headfirst into enemy fire. But he doesn’t feel right teasing a man who looks so worried. His squad members will accuse him of getting too soft at this rate. 

“I’ll be careful,” Eren promises.

“I don’t think any assassins will follow you all the way to the frontlines, but be mindful of that, too. It’ll be far too easy to kill you in the heat of a battle.”

There’s no need to worry about that. The heat of the battle is the best place to hide his healing abilities, after all. But that is something Eren cannot say to ease Willy’s fears. 

“I am your Helos,” he finds himself saying instead. “I will not die so easily.”

The smile returns to Willy’s face, and his eyes glint mischievously. This man is much too simple. Is he really going to be okay with taking over his family with unknown amount of power over the Marleyan government? 

“You know, my sister is here today. Want to meet her? Oh, she made some tarts earlier today. Why don’t I make sure that you guys have that on the plane tomorrow?”

“Sounds good. Both meeting her and the tarts, I mean.”

Willy laughs. “Good! Since you can’t dance, I’m going to make sure you socialize in other ways!”

 

*

 

Reiner can’t get any food down.

He pushes his plate away from himself, catching his mother’s attention. Karina’s lips pull into a frown, and damn it. This is not how he wants to spend his last night before going to the frontlines tomorrow.

“S-sorry. I think it’s the… n-nerves,” he manages out.

“Well, this is the first time you’ll be fighting alongside Captain Kruger,” she says lightly. “If you can’t get any more food down, why don’t you go early to bed?”

Reiner jumps at the chance to escape from his mother’s watchful gaze, even if it means he has to go to bed early. It’s nothing like he’s terrified of what might happen tomorrow. At least, he doesn’t think so. Why should he be afraid? He is a trained Warrior, and Captain Kruger will be there. Besides, he’s been on the battlefield before. It’s not at all scary.

So this… This has to be excitement! Yes! That makes perfect sense.

He’s so overwhelmed with excitement to be on the battlefield that his stomach is churning! 

He isn’t a coward. He isn’t scared.

Reiner is a Warrior. 

He’ll make his mother proud. He’ll make everyone look at him in awe. He’ll make Captain Kruger ruffle his hair. He’ll make even Porco admit that Reiner was the better choice for the Armored Titan.

He’ll make everyone see.

 

*

 

Willy’s sister introduces herself as Emma with a polite smile. Unlike her brother, her demeanor is cool and collected. If Willy hadn’t said that she’s the younger one, Eren would’ve assumed that she was older. She exudes a mature air about her that Willy seems to be missing. Or perhaps that’s just part of Willy’s performance?

“I’ve always wanted to meet you, Captain. My brother goes on forever about you. It’d be adorable, if it wasn’t so annoying.”

The smile on her face is polite, but it’s clear that she meant that jab to hurt Willy. From the way Willy exclaim, Eren is certain that he’s correct.

“He goes on forever about you, too,” Eren assures her with a smile. “It’s enough to accuse him of being a SisCon.”

Emma eyes light up without the polite smile slipping. If Eren wasn’t so used to Willy, he feels like he might have missed it. So both of them are like this… Then again, they probably have to be. This world isn’t that kind to Eldians that they can get away with not hiding their true feelings, Honorary Marleyan or not.

“Y-you don’t mean that, Eren!” Willy whines.

“Do you dance, Captain?” Emma asks, ignoring Willy.

Eren shakes his head. “I’m afraid not.”

Oh. So he can speak like a normal human. He thought for sure that he would say something completely outrageous again. Perhaps it has to do with his nerves? 

“A pity. I’m sure plenty of ladies here will kill to be held by you.” Then with a side-glance at her brother, Emma adds, “And some men.”

“T-that’s wrong, Emma! The Captain and I are best of friends. Don’t dirty our pure feelings with your filthy thoughts!”

Eren doesn’t know what Willy is imagining for his face to turn that red, but he figures that he doesn’t need to know. Plausible deniability and all that. 

“I plan on dying as a bachelor, so if you could, I would rather you didn’t say things like that,” Eren says firmly.

They both turn to look at him in shock. Eren really doesn’t get it. What’s so shocking about him wanting to be alone? If anything, doesn’t it make perfect sense? Why the hell would he want to stay around people when they’re this tiring to deal with?

“Captain, you’ll make my brother cry if you say things like that,” Emma says at the same time Willy cheerfully says, “Oh good, I won’t have to worry about cleaning up those kinds of rumors then!”

The two stares at each other in disbelief.

“What are you saying? You’ve been spending all your time in the kitchen, making all those sweets for him! Why wouldn’t you take advantage of any chance you have?” Emma demands without her polite smile slipping.

“You promised you wouldn’t say anything about that! Emma, shut up!” Willy hisses. “You’re always doing things like this! Even in fifth grade, you just had to put your nose where it doesn’t belong. I was doing fine! I didn’t need you to push Jon down the stairs!”

“That was because you two were taking forever circling each other! Just admit that you like them and move on from step one!”

The two of them begin to bicker back and forth about old sibling rivalry and hurts that Eren quickly loses track of. To be honest, he’s a little stuck on the fact that Willy has been lying to him the entire time. The one who has been making those sweets, it wasn’t Emma but Willy…?

“E-excuse me,” he stammers as he removes himself from the vicinity of the siblings. 

He returns to his corner with a new champagne glass in hand to try and dissect what just happened. 

Willy has been lying to him about where the sweets came from. But why? What’s the point of such a lie? This isn't making any sense.

“Oh, Captain! Are you nervous about returning to the frontlines tomorrow?” 

Now that he’s no longer near Willy and Emma, the others begin to gather around him with cloying smiles. He really doesn’t want to deal with this, but he supposes that’s not up to him to decide.

“I’m rather looking forward to it, actually,” he admits. 

He’ll think about Willy and the rest elsewhen. For now, he’ll just focus on surviving tonight and then the battlefield. 

 

*

 

They travel by an airship to the frontlines.

It’s how they traveled to get to  Gramina before, so it’s not like this is something brand new and unexpected. If there’s anything that’s throwing Bertolt off, it’s Marcel and Kruger.

For one, Marcel has been seething over something since he got on this morning. It’s a dark kind of mood that Bertolt has never seen Marcel be in before. He has absolutely no idea how to approach it or if he should even be near Marcel. When you’re angry, you should be left alone to get it out of your system, right? 

On the other hand, there’s Kruger. 

The Captain looks like he hasn’t slept a wink last night. There are dark bags under his eyes, and his lips are pulled back into a scowl. Figuring it might be his headache from lack of sugar, Bertolt offered the Captain some of the tarts that seemed to have been prepared for them. But the cold glare Kruger gave at the suggestion still makes Bertolt shudder.

What the hell happened to the two of them that they’re both in such foul moods? He wants to know. Of course, he wants to know. But he’s also terrified of their anger to ask.

He can’t believe he’s thinking this, but he hopes that they arrive quickly to the frontlines so he doesn’t have to stay in this stiff silence for long.

 

*

 

If there’s one thing that’s pretty nice, it’s how easily the Young Warriors fall into line behind Kruger like ducklings. Theo doesn’t even have to say anything.

“Commander! Captain! Thank you for your haste,” greets Colonel Milly. His eyes linger on the children for a second longer than necessary before he looks back at Theo. “Have you had breakfast? I’ll brief you on the situation while we eat.”

Theo nods. “Sounds good. Kruger, any objections?”

“None sir.”

The curtness (and the coldness) catches Theo off-guard. Is Kruger that nervous about being back on the frontlines? Is it meeting his old comrades again? Kruger was quiet throughout the entire ride here, too. Not to mention he didn’t once reach for the tarts that looked to have been prepared for them. 

Just a little, Theo recalls the stench of blood in that small hallway as Kruger lit a cigarette.

It… can’t be that, right? 

Then again, in a place like the battlefield, that kind of ruthless violence might be necessary.

Theo makes a note to keep the children away from Kruger for the duration of their stay here. He doesn’t want to shatter their innocent hero-worship of the War Hero just yet.

 

*

 

“O-ohhhh! It’s Kruger!”

“Kruger! It’s been forever!”

“Hahahaha! They finally dragged you back, didn’t they?”

“How was the view outside?”

Excited shouts rise all around them as they make their way to a tent, where Porco assumes they’ll hold their briefing. He thought that the Captain will at least shout or wave his hands at the soldiers. But Kruger makes no move like he heard them.

Instead, Kruger keeps his attention coldly forward. 

It’s so damned cool that it takes everything Porco has to not grin like an idiot. He tries really hard to follow Kruger’s example of displaying a cool exterior. But he feels like he might be failing from how much he’s fidgeting. Just how is everyone else-

Marcel’s eyes are still stormy from last night’s fight with their mom. 

It immediately sobers Porco. 

Typically, Marcel doesn’t get mad.  The last time he got this angry, it lasted for approximately 2 minutes before Marcel got tired and fell asleep. At the time, the cause of the anger was none other than Porco, who thought that the pudding in the fridge was fair game and didn't realize that Marcel had been saving it for a special occasion. And when Marcel woke up, he forgot all about it, so Porco didn't make a big deal over it other than getting his brother another pudding.

So to see Marcel still brewing over last night’s fight really worries Porco.

He opens his mouth to speak, but that’s just his bad timing. They enter the tent in order to talk about the upcoming battle. Later, Porco decides. He’ll talk to Marcel later.

“Status?” Kruger asks as he walks to the table in the middle of the tent with familiarity.

There’s a map set up there with small pieces that Porco assumes are supposed to represent their and their opponents’ forces. Magath makes a motion for the Young Warriors to stay along the edge of the tent instead of getting any closer to the table. Usually, it’ll be Marcel who protest and say that they should be briefed, too. But it seems that Marcel isn’t in the mood for speaking.

So the rest of them quietly stay where they’re told to.

“Lieut… Captain, I insist that you eat first,” says a lady as she enters the tent.

She holds two bowls of gruel with an eerie smile. Although she seems like a nice enough lady, there’s something about her that makes Porco feel uncomfortable. Like there’s something not quite right about her. But he can’t seem to figure out why he feels like that.

“Eike. I don’t want anything you made,” Kruger says without glancing up from the map.

Porco can’t help but to note that this is the first time Kruger addressed someone here verbally.

“Onyankopon made it for just for you,” the lady, Eike, says with a light giggle.

The hair on the back of Porco’s neck stands up. There’s something wrong with that giggle. A quick glance around assures him that the others look just as uneasy. 

Kruger glances up at the name, looking just a tad excited in a way that he gets when sweets are involved. “Pon-pon did?”

What… a ridiculously cute nickname. It sounds almost wrong coming out of Kruger’s mouth.

Without any care of how the rest of the Warriors feel, Kruger accepts a bowl and digs in. After a spoonful, he pauses for a second to finally glance at Eike with a hint of a smile on his face.

“Tell him thanks.”

Seeing that, Magath accepts the other bowl from Eike. The Commander absentmindedly eats a spoonful and shudders. Slowly, he puts the bowl down on the table.

“Isn’t this too sweet?”

Eike tilts her head, staring at Magath with a blank look that sends a shudder down Porco’s spine. He knew there was something wrong with her! There’s something seriously wrong with her! What the hell? She looks like how Pieck describes some of the monsters in her stupid ghost stories!

“Sweet? What do you mean, Commander? Why would gruel taste ‘too’ sweet? Are you… are you accusing me of something?”

The Colonel lets out a soft sigh and lightly taps Kruger’s shoulder. 

“Eike, it’s fine. They know about my sweet tooth,” Kruger says.

Immediately, the blank look disappears and is replaced with a serene smile. “Is that so? My mistake, Commander. These gruel were made to match our Captain’s love for sweets. Since they’re in this form, no one will realize our Captain’s secret.”

“If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it,” Kruger tells Magath. Then he motions at the map. “If you will, Colonel?”

“Alright…”

 

*

 

The situation isn’t dire. 

It’s just taking a long time, presumably since there’s no longer someone bold like Kruger to lead a suicide charge. A battle that used to last perhaps two to three days have dragged on to its second week. It’s much too clear why Kruger has been called.

What Theo doesn’t like is the side-glances Colonel Milly make towards the Young Warriors.

“It’s a good time as any, isn’t it?” Milly asks. “Or are you planning on hiding them behind my veteran soldiers again?”

Tch. To think Milly held a grudge because of Glory of Gramina. 

“There’s no need for that,” Kruger says. 

Theo’s surprise is reflected on Milly’s and Eike’s faces. But Kruger doesn’t seem to notice. His eyes are set on the map as he picks up one of the pieces to examine it. 

“My squad is more than enough to handle this. Or… are you saying that they’ve become so lazy in my absence that they require assistance from Eldians?”

Kruger’s eyes are cold as they regard both Milly and Eike. As if understanding the quiet implication, Milly drops his gaze, shame coloring his cheeks. 

How terrifying. While saying such cold words, Kruger has effectively provided a shield for the children. If any of the young Warriors even touch the battlefield, the soldiers will take personal offense. Theo bookmarks that for future usage. 

Eike, on the other hand, is beaming with a grin so wide that it hurts Theo’s own cheeks to see. He won’t be shocked if she turned out to be part of Kruger’s squad. He really hopes not, though. There’s something about her that just feels… off. Like she’s not quite all there. He would much rather someone like her stay far away from the children.

“I’ll gather the others!” she volunteers. She grabs the two empty bowls to take her leave.

“200,” Kruger tells her. “If that’s too much, get me 150 volunteers.”

She giggles and glances back at Kruger with a smug smirk. “You’re mad if you think only 200 will volunteer.”

Kruger stares blankly after her as she leaves. Then he turns to Milly, quietly asking him what she’s talking about. Theo feels like he relates to the look of mild exasperation on Milly’s face.

 

*

 

“Ah. So it’s true.”

Marcel stares at the two that approaches the Warriors with slight shock. The armband signals that these two are Eldians, just like the Warriors. But what catches Marcel’s attention is the fact that the color of the armband marks these two as Warrior Candidates. 

He had been under the assumption that there weren’t any other Warrior Candidates. So who are these two?

“Rott, Wolf,” Commander Magath greets. “I didn’t realize you two were part of the Voluntary Eldian Army.”

One of the Warrior Candidates is a man missing an arm. His build is huge, and it feels a bit like he’s towering over Magath and the rest of the Warriors. There are visible scars all over his body and face, giving him an almost beastly appearance. By his side is a smaller woman with a cold expression that feels almost as if she’s lowering the temperature just by standing here. She also has visible scars that she doesn’t bother covering up.

“What else would we do, Commander? Unlike my brother and Ria, we’re not so disabled that we can no longer fight,” the woman growls.

While the woman continues to glare at Magath, the man turns to Marcel and the rest of the Warriors with a curious look.

“Jeesh, you guys are tiny,” the man says, shaking his head. “I’m Oswald Rott. That sourpuss over there is Iris Wolf. We’re what you’d call ‘defective’ goods. Unlike you ‘premium’ goods, we’re failures that can never be considered to inherit Titans despite what our bands here say.”

… Failures…? 

Marcel doesn’t like the implications dropped at his feet. And from the uncomfortable way Commander Magath looks at those words, he’s certain that what Rott is saying is the truth. Just what happened for these two clearly seasoned Warriors to be overlooked as inheritors for the Titans? 

“That’s enough, Rott,” Magath warns.

“Right. Right. It’s taboo to talk about that. My mistake, Commander. Guess I was hit too many times in the head,” Rott says with a loud laugh that doesn’t sound very friendly.

A taboo? Like what Johannes the janitor talked about?

“Well, now that we’ve said our pleasantries, if you can move? We still haven’t greeted that damned Lieutenant. Why the hell is he back, anyways? It was finally so peaceful with that bloodsucker gone,” Rott drawls.

“Os, he’s a Captain now,” Wolf corrects.

Rott pauses as if he has truly forgotten that. Then he lets out an annoyed growl. “Right. Right. Promotion for killing all those people.”

Magath motions for the Warriors to move away from the entrance of the tent for the two of them to enter. Rott and Wolf don’t glance back at them and enter. There’s a loud “Yo Captain!” and an annoyed “Not you two” from Kruger. 

Marcel turns to Magath, waiting for an explanation, but the Commander refuses to meet his eyes. He gets the feeling that if he were to ask, he’d receive the same “it’s taboo” as an answer.

His anger from before from the fight with his mom gets redirected to this mystery before him. 

Just what are the adults hiding from them?

 

*

 

There used to be at maximum 50 of them. 

Through various battles and stupidity, that number fluctuated from anywhere between an average of 5 to 37, but never went anywhere above 50.

So to see 200 volunteers (and about 60 Eldians) excitedly grinning at him is something he would never have believed could happen.

Eren doesn’t know if he should be flattered or uncomfortable.

“This is a suicide charge,” he tells them, just in case they were lied to. “We’ll be pulling the attention to ourselves so that the rest of the forces can go in for a pincer attack. Majority of you, if not all, will die.”

The grins on their faces don’t slip. Did these guys seriously volunteer for this? Why? There’s no glory in dying in a suicide charge. The glory is only given to living victors. Why would anyone want to be a part of this?

“Captain Kruger, we’ll follow your lead,” Yelena tells Eren with confidence.

Damn them all.

“Then die for me,” he commands.

He absolutely hates their excited cheers.

 

*

 

“What are you doing?” Kruger’s voice is sharp when he spots Reiner gearing up.

Reiner straightens. “S-sir, since this is voluntary-”

“No.”

Kruger glances around, possibly searching for Magath. When he doesn’t see the Commander readily available, he grabs the rifle out of Reiner’s hands. If Reiner didn’t know any better, he’d say that the Captain looks worried.

“You’ll stay with the other Warriors. Hugo, make sure none of the brats go near the battlefield.”

The soldier who has been singled out looks terribly offended by that order but doesn’t verbally disagree. Instead, he nods and motions for Reiner to follow him.

When Reiner doesn’t move, Kruger gives him a small kick.

“Go.”

The words of protests all die on his tongue when he sees the angry look on Kruger’s face. 

It’s not fair. Kruger is the one who said he’ll see them as weapons. So why won’t he use them? Isn’t this the perfect stage to show the world the might of the Warriors? Instead of sending all those people to die, isn’t it better to let the Warriors become their shield and sword?

Reiner reluctantly follows after the soldier named Hugo. When they’re far away enough from Kruger’s earshot, Hugo lets out a soft sigh.

“That’s mean, Captain.”

Those words are probably not for Reiner to hear. But he can’t help but to glance up at the soldier anyways. As if sensing the gaze, Hugo looks at him and gives him a small smile.

“Don’t resent him too much. Our Captain is a bit… rough around the edges, shall we say? This is his way of keeping you kids and me out of the battlefield so we won’t get hurt.” Hugo lets out a small sigh. “I thought he’d stop babying me, though… I guess that day still bothers him.”

“Can… I ask about that?” Reiner asks.

Hugo chuckles, far friendlier than any Marleyan Reiner has ever met. “Like hell I’ll tell you, Eldian scum.”

… Reiner honestly wonders if everyone around Kruger is deranged. 

“Oh? I thought you wanted to be on the field with the Captain?” Eike says when she sees Hugo. Then her eyes land on Reiner. There’s a look in her eyes that makes Reiner shudder. “Is that why? Hugo, you go on ahead. I’ll take him to the other Warriors. Captain told me to stay and watch over Colonel Milly anyways.”

Hugo perks up at those words. “Thanks, Eike! You’re the best!”

Without another glance at Reiner, Hugo runs off. And now that he’s gone, Reiner has lost the buffer between himself and this strange woman.

“Come,” she says with that same smile that makes Reiner shudder.

He doesn’t feel safe near this woman. But there’s no one around who will help out an Eldian. He shouldn’t have gone off alone. He should have stayed with the others. Desperately, he wishes that he can find Kruger. But he doesn’t think he’ll get that luxury.

“Well?” Eike asks, her voice taking on a cold tint.

“I-I’m coming,” Reiner stammers.

Eike leads him to a secluded area. And Reiner may be at the bottom of the class, but he knows what this means, okay? When a Marleyan takes an Eldian to a private location such as this, the Eldian very rarely comes out alive. The only thing Reiner has going for him right now is that he is the Armored Titan, so he won’t die of any normal means.

But he doesn’t want to push this woman.

“You know, Kruger is a really wonderful person. Even though everyone calls me creepy and wants nothing to do with me, he took me in after the  Tragedy of  Silvis. He never once lorded that over me either. The name ‘Eike,’ too, was given to me by him. This wonderful and kind person just has one thing in the world that he hates more than anything. Can you guess what that is?”

Reiner would much rather not stay here for this lecture, thank you. If she wants to rant, can she please do it somewhere else? 

“It’s you fucking Eldians.”

The smile is finally gone. But this look isn’t much better.

He cannot tell you exactly why he feels that she looks off. Or why he finds her so terrifying. But he can say with certainty that this woman will most definitely try to kill him. 

“And now he has to babysit a team of them? Are you kidding me? After everyone he lost? After everything that was taken from him by you? The higher ups are stupid if they think I’ll stand by idly and allow them to hurt him like this.”

She pulls out a gun from her pocket and puts the barrel against Reiner’s forehead.

“So I’ll just get rid of you. Every single one of you. Then he’ll be free to be on the frontlines with the people he loves and will never hurt him!”

Reiner is too shocked to form any coherent words. He wants to say something to defend himself. He desperately wants to point out to her that Kruger most definitely doesn’t hate the Warriors. He can’t. Not with the soft way he smiles at them or the way he allows them to tease him. Or the way he shares his sweets with them. That’s not something someone who hates them will do. 

But he finds himself frozen to the spot. He finds his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. He finds himself unable to move.

The gunshot rings in his ears as he feels hot blood splatter all around him. Eike’s manic grin is etched into Reiner’s memory in the empty space of where her head used to be. Her headless body falls limply to the ground with a soft thud.

Slowly, Reiner turns to look at who shot.

There’s another woman there with a kind smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. 

“Hugo told me Eike was being weird, so I figured it’d be something like this. Don’t worry, little Warrior. You aren’t at fault here. She was a mad dog that needed to be put down.”

Reiner nods slowly.

“But I would really appreciate it if you don’t tell the Captain. He’ll be heartbroken if he hears about this. Just say that she died in battle, if he ever asks.”

“T-thank you,” Reiner manages out.

The woman chuckles. “If anyone, thank Hugo. If he didn’t ask me to, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“Yelena, is everything…” Hugo trails off when he sees the body on the ground. There’s a sad look in his eyes, but he seems to accept it as what it is. “C’mon kid. Let’s wipe the blood off before I take you to your friends.”

“W-why did you come back…?” Reiner stammers.

Hugo’s lips curve into a prideful smirk. “Because the Captain asked  _ me _ to watch over you.”

Everyone around Kruger, Reiner decides, is most definitely deranged.


	7. The Sacrifices of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek. This took a while. Sorry about that.
> 
> This is the battle part of the previous chapter. So it has a lot of gore and a lot of needlessly cruel depiction of violence/deaths. Please keep that in mind before attempting to read this chapter. If these things are not what you'd like to read, it's totally okay to drop this story or skip this chapter.
> 
> And in case you're wondering, no, I don't buy into the theory that Xavier was the doctor that helped Kruger fake being a Marleyan. The last bit of this chapter reflects that.

“Captain, is it not better to send those ‘Warriors’ instead of your men to their deaths?”  Onyankopon asks, possibly voicing the question that everyone has.

Eren doesn’t glance up from checking his rifle. Without a doubt, the rest of them are probably listening in, so he can’t afford to be honest. But he has no doubt that if he mentions how young those Warriors are, Onyankopon will most definitely agree with Eren’s thoughts. Onyankopon tends to be soft on children, Eldians or not.

But that’s not a sentient a Marleyan is allowed to possess.

“Are you telling me that my squad members have fallen so low that they need to be protected by bunch of Eldians?”

He feels the onlookers shift without looking up. Good. They won’t dare argue against that kind of single-minded hatred. Not when they all know of his “hate.”

“If that’s the case, then maybe I should kill you all myself,” Eren continues carelessly.

Onyankopon lets out a soft sigh. “Please don’t say such scary things. There are crazy enough people here that they might actually jump at that opportunity.”

… Eren most definitely didn’t need to know that. Is it just him or has the people of the frontline gotten… stranger?

“By the way, Pon-pon, have you seen Eike? I haven’t seen her since she got me breakfast. The gruel was delicious, by the way.”

“Eike? Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Yelena either… Y-you don’t suppose…?”

Eren finally looks up from his rifle. “Find them. Keep them from doing anything stupid. I put Hugo on Warrior watch duty. Tell him the situation and keep things from spiraling out of control.”

“That’s quite a lot of faith you’re putting in me. Those two are crazy, you know,”  Onyankopon complains. But he moves to obey anyways.

Good old  Onyankopon. Even if he knows that he won’t be able to stop both of them, he still goes to try. He could probably get away with telling them to stop if he mentions Eren’s name, though. But that’s something he’ll leave up to Onyankopon to figure out.

But this is worrying. 

Eike has always hated Eldians more than it's healthy ever since the events of Tragedy of  Silvis. If left alone, she might do something dangerous to those kids. Would Magath’s presence prevent her from harming them? He’s not sure. And on top of that, he has no idea which side Yelena might take. Hugo is naively trusting, so he might end up letting those kids come to harm without meaning to… 

Should he send someone else with  Onyankopon? Or should he trust that they’ll be able to figure things out? Because it’s those kids, Eren feels like they’ll be able to handle themselves. After all, they were able to bring him to his knee during their fight. But if someone gets hurt… whose side should he be on? Who should he defend? 

“Captain Kruger, we are ready to depart for battle.”

Too late to regret now.

Eren can only hope that everyone will be fine.

 

*

 

“There you are! Who gave you permission to wander around?” Theo snaps when he sees a soldier bring Reiner back to the group. 

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” Reiner scrambles to apologize. 

That’s odd. Why does Reiner look so skittish? What happened while he was alone? Theo finds himself eyeing the soldier suspiciously. If this soldier hurt one of Theo’s kids, then he will make sure this soldier doesn’t even make it to the battlefield.

“Commander, my name is Hugo,” the soldier introduces himself to Theo. “Captain Kruger instructed me to keep an eye on the Warriors, sir.”

Why would Kruger feel the need to send someone to watch over the Warriors? The minute the question enters Theo’s mind, he takes a second to observe the soldier named Hugo. He had thought that Kruger was baby-faced when he first saw a photo of the War Hero. But Hugo looks younger. Theo wouldn’t be shocked if Kruger purposefully sent Hugo here with watching the Warriors as an excuse. Get the young children away from the battle, huh?

If that’s the case, Theo can’t bring himself to dismiss this soldier.

“How old are you, Hugo?” he asks instead.

The soldier straightens to make himself look taller. “I am 26, sir.”

Yeah, that’s a lie, no matter how Theo looks at it.

“And your real age?” he pushes.

“26, sir,” Hugo repeats. And when it’s clear that Theo doesn’t believe him, Hugo adds, “I’m the same age as Captain.”

“So you’re 18,” Theo surmises.

Hugo’s brows jump to his hairlines. “Sir? Captain Kruger is 26 years old.”

From how confused he sounds, it seems that Kruger never mentioned his real age to this kid. Theo isn’t sure if that’s for the best or not. He decides to drop the topic, but it doesn’t look like Porco got the memo.

“Captain Kruger is 18. Don’t you know anything?”

Why must this child always sound like he’s challenging someone to a fight?

“Aren’t you the one mistaken? Captain Kruger absolutely hates lies. Given that, why would he lie on his forms?” Hugo points out matter-of-factly.

Since it’s clear that this is going to get out of hand, Theo motions for them all to stop talking. 

“We were tasked with running supplies and messages. If it’s not related to that, keep your mouths shut.”

 

*

 

The message that everyone is in position arrives somewhere close to three in the afternoon. 

Late, Eren thinks. Taking their time as usual. No wonder this battle stretched on for so long.

“Masks on,” he orders.

He motions for the rest of them to get ready to run. And isn’t it hilarious? Despite the fact that he’s the one who decided to throw away all of these people, his heart is hesitating. By just letting those children’s hands be a little bloodied, he would be able to save (not everyone. He’s not that naive) a good portion of these people. He would be able to let these people go back home to their families. He could do it. Even now, it’s still not too late to change his mind.

The only saving grace is that the previous Kruger’s perfect control gives him enough of an edge to not let it physically show.

All anyone will be able to see is their cold Captain Kruger, waiting for the bombs to go off to signal their attack.

He could do it, Eren thinks humorlessly. He could save these people.

“Fire,” he orders instead.

 

*

 

The bombs that go off shakes the world with such force that Annie finds herself scrambling to stay upright.

By the time she glances towards the battlefield, the flashes of lights have faded. In their place is Kruger’s volunteer group, charging forth to their deaths. The flash bombs should buy them a few minutes. But after that, they’ll…

“Captain Kruger isn’t an idiot,” Hugo growled when Marcel pointed that out. “Nor is this our first charge. If you think a light show is all we have up our sleeves, then your education is severely lacking.”

But before they could ask him for more information, he was pulled away by a soldier named  Onyankopon. From the small snippets Annie overheard, it sounds like they’re looking for that strange woman from earlier that morning. When Reiner heard that, he stiffened and looked at the ground with a pale face that makes Annie suspects that something happened during his disappearance.

The ground shakes again. This time with the enemy’s retaliation. 

Annie isn’t alone in staring towards the battlefield in worry.

“What’s the point of having the powers of the Titans if we’re just put on the sidelines?” Bertolt mumbles quietly.

From the tense and frustrated expressions on everyone else’s faces, Annie is certain that question is echoed in all of their minds.

 

*

 

Ah.

This is bad.

Eren can’t keep straight who is dead and who is still charging.

He thinks he might have hit his head somewhere along the way. The world is spinning and red. Is that red from the blood falling into his eyes? Or the red of the world? There’s supposed to be smoke grenades to give them extra cover, but it seems those responsible ran late. 

Damn them.

A lot of people got sniped down between then and now. Are the people on the ground corpses? Or are they just people who have gotten down to hide their presence from the enemy?

Tch.

“Hey Rott, if you… stand in front of me… I can’t go forth.”

Oswald chuckles, spurting blood on Eren. How he manages to hold his body in front of Eren to protect him from oncoming shots while still grinning is something Eren can’t quite figure out. Shouldn’t he have bled out by now? How many bullets has his ridiculously large body already been riddled with? Maybe Eren blinked and accidentally walked into the wrong world where Oswald did inherit a Titan. If so, then will Oswald be interested in working with Eren to destroy everything in their Titan forms? Because it’s been so lonely. So damned lonely by himself.

“Y-your problem… Cap’n.”

Once upon a time, they stood together as Warrior Candidates. Because of his large build (even back then, Oswald was always so damned big), everyone believed he’d take on the Colossal Titan of destruction until he shyly said he wanted the Armor. 

To think this will be his pathetic end.

There’s no one watching. Everyone is too busy with their own imminent death to notice this small of a gesture. Eren knows because his own brain can’t quite register this the way he wants it to. He can’t even recall their childhood together.

But this man used to be his comrade. 

And for frightening few years, they worked together on suicide charges in the frontlines of this war that never seems to end. They weren’t close. Not just because Eren feared being recognized, but also because he’s supposed to be a Marleyan with a special hatred for Eldians. They barely spent any time outside of the battlefield together. They barely talked aside from Eren’s biting words to Oswald’s frustrated sighs.

“That damned Lieutenant,” Oswald often called him. And why wouldn’t he? Eren has done nothing but annoy both Oswald and Iris. And if Eren hadn't known them since childhood, he would have believed that that nickname was something Oswald himself came up with. But it's most definitely Iris's nickname that Oswald picked up. He's too kind of a person to call someone such harsh things.

“Os.” Eren pulls off the dog tag around Oswald’s neck. “You’ve done well. Rest.”

Oswald’s eyes are cloudy but they lock onto Eren with a gentleness that he’s never shown Kruger.

And for just a second, Eren recalls a sunny day in Liberio when the eight of them decided to play tag after training was over. He feels like he can hear the giggling of children over the roars of explosions. 

“Wait up… Eren…”

The body stays standing like that for a second longer. Then it falls down to its side, clearing the path forward. 

_ “E-Eren, you’re bleeding! L-let’s stop here for t-today!” _

_ “Shut up, Os. Again. Fight me again. I’m not done!” _

_ “P-please, let’s just stop… Eren, I’m begging you. No more.” _

That’s right. Oswald has always been a giant softie. He hated he thought of hurting someone to the point that he refused to fight back against Eren at times. Why did someone like that join the Volunteer Army? 

_ “Why the hell are you always so hesitant? You have a huge body, Os. Use that to push Ria around.” _

_ “T-that’s mean, Eren! You shouldn’t do things like that, especially n-not to girls!” _

_ “There are other ways to use a big body, you know. Instead of hurting people with it, why not becoming a shield?” _

_ “A shield? I-I can do that! Thank you, Rose!” _

Ah. 

That’s probably what it was.

To protect Iris and the rest of the Eldian Volunteer Army with his body. 

That’s why Oswald wanted the Armored Titan, wasn’t it? In order to protect those he loves…

How odd. Oswald’s face seems to overlap with Reiner’s. Did Hugo do as promised and take him to somewhere safe? Are all the Young Warriors safe under Magath’s watchful eyes? They didn’t sneak onto the battlefield, right? They’re not under threat of Eike and Yelena, right? They’re safe?

Yeah, they have to be safe. They must be.

They’re all smart kids. Smart and observant and resourceful. 

Nothing like the idiots the eight of them were. 

Who the hell goes to protect someone who clearly hates you, Oswald? Why did you stand to protect Eren from those gunshots? Why didn’t you save yourself? Why wouldn’t you purposefully let Eren die?

“You… damned idiot.”

Oswald’s going to get a nasty surprise when he realizes that Eren isn’t dead. 

It’s not funny at all.

But he finds himself laughing as he makes his way through the battlefield. Laugh as the bodies of the dead and the living twitch from the gunshots all around him. Laugh as the people around him fall to the ground. Laugh as the smoke grenades finally gives him the cover he needs to heal the most fatal wounds. 

Laugh as he alone makes it to the enemy lines and puts a bullet in the forehead of a soldier that’s much too young to be wearing a uniform.

 

*

 

The battle continues late into the night. 

Theo feels guilty trying to sleep while the explosions of gunfire and bombs go off all around them. So he opts to keep watch on the fighting. It seems he’s not alone with that thought, because the Young Warriors join him outside. And probably because he was asked to, Hugo eventually joins them with a small snack for them all.

It’s not until dawn breaks, spilling its blood red light over the corpse-filled battlefield, that Theo realizes just how quiet it is.

“Is… it over?”

“Permission to run and check, sir?” Hugo asks.

Hugo’s body is tense. He looks like he will run off the minute he receives permission. But Theo isn’t sure if that’s such a good idea. Kruger wanted Hugo away from the battlefield. Even if it looks as if the fighting is over, there’s no guarantee that it is.

“Denied. We’ll wait for news.”

“Commander, what if I went to check?” Marcel asks.

Theo shakes his head. “Did you not hear me? We’ll wait.”

 

*

 

“W-we surrender. P-please, stop. P-p-please…!”

Eren presses the rifle against the pleading man’s forehead and pulls the trigger. 

_ Click. _

Empty.

“You lucked out,” he says, tossing the rifle down.

The man sobs in answer. He crumples to the ground, curling into a small ball. The rest of the people in the tent slowly seems to relax, believing the worst has passed.

“You get to be killed by my hands instead.”

He’s long ago healed his broken arm. The cast, too, has long ago been forsaken. And with his healing working overtime to keep him upright and functioning, it’s no surprise that he feels well enough to bash the sobbing man’s head in with his own fists.

Ah. Fuck.

He forgot how gross it feels to kill someone with his bear hands. That's right. That's why humans invented violent weapons. So they didn't have to feel the mess of  blood, guts, muscles, and whatever else spray all around him. If there's any consolation, it's that he finally gets to let out the frustration  he’s been holding back for so long. He can use this to relieve his stress. 

“W-w-why are you doing this…?” 

Eren glances up. “Do you know how many of my people died because you guys didn’t surrender sooner?”

“Y-y-you’re the ones who invaded first! You chose to throw those lives away! You chose those tactics that got your people killed! This isn’t on us. This is on you. All the blood, all the deaths are all on you!”

“Correct,” Eren agrees. “I’m just selfishly and childishly lashing out at you.”

At a silent signal, they jump him in hopes of catching unawares or maybe their hope was that they could overpower him. But it seems that they, too, have no idea who he is. Perhaps he has been away from the frontlines for too long if the whispers of the “Devil’s Own Kruger” didn’t reach them here. 

He supposes he has more than enough time to fix that.

Don’t you know? In the heat of a battlefield, all sins are drowned in the blood of corpses.

 

*

 

“Commander Magath,” Colonel Milly calls. “Please collect your Captain.”

What ominous words. 

Theo closes his eyes. Damn. He chose wrong. He should have sent the Warriors instead. He shouldn’t have allowed Kruger to join the fighting, especially not with his broken arm. He should have-

As if realizing how his words have come across, Milly backtracks. 

“Kruger is fine. He just… uh… It’ll make more sense once you see him. You… should leave the kids here.”

Theo orders Hugo to watch over the kids. Although Hugo looks like he wants to protest badly, he swallows it down and nods. No wonder Kruger told him to take care of the kids. This guy is a stickler to rules and orders, huh?

“Please tell Captain that we’re waiting for him,” Hugo requests.

“I will do just that,” Theo agrees.

Then he follows Milly towards the battlefield.

“How much do you know about Kruger’s… condition?”

“Condition?” Theo echoes.

He hadn’t been aware that Kruger had any kind of condition. It can’t be any allergies to cats, since the brat keeps feeding the wild cats around their headquarter. Nor can it be about the sweets he eat. There wasn’t anything written in Kruger’s file. So it can’t be any kind of medical or important condition. 

Milly makes a face. “No matter how much the higher ups want to paint him out to be a hero, Kruger isn’t. He’s just a mad dog who got to live the way he wanted because he was on the frontlines.”

Ah. He’s talking about that.

They walk through the battlefield, possibly the route that Kruger might have taken. Around them, other soldiers have started clean up. They pile body parts into a cart and corpses into another. Theo is glad that the children aren’t here to see this. 

“But that kind of living style isn’t suited in a peaceful city like Liberio. If it wasn’t something the higher ups insisted, I would never have sent Kruger anywhere near normal civilians. He becomes too restless when he’s inactive for long. He’s the kind of person who constantly needs to spill blood. That’s why he wanted to go out himself, you know. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Eldians and Marleys. He only says things like that to make it impossible to argue against him. But in actuality, he was just starving for blood.”

Theo doesn’t like this thread of conversation. “Kruger has been nothing but a modern citizen.”

That’s a lie. From the way Milly levels a disbelieving stare, Theo knows he’s not fooling anyone. And with this new warning, he can’t help but to wonder if maybe there was never any assassin. Maybe Kruger reacted violently to that maid in his home because he was restless. Maybe Kruger just wanted to get violent because “he was starving for blood.”

“Keep your eyes on the crimes near your area. See how many times Kruger’s name pops up.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Theo manages out evenly.

Milly sighs. “I’m not trying to antagonize him or you. I’m just… trying to minimize losses. In fact, if I were you, I’d just give him a few Eldians from time to time. You guys have more than enough there, don’t you?”

Is this a joke? After what happened to the Warriors Division ten years ago, Milly is making that kind of comment?

“Colonel, I advice you to keep your opinion to yourself,” Theo says softly.

There’s a look in Milly’s eyes that doesn’t seem like pity but feels mocking anyhow. But he thankfully doesn’t say anything more.

It takes them about an hour to cross the battlefield to the enemy lines, mainly because they have to dodge the corpses and undetonated shells. Theo can’t imagine the massive chaos this place must have been in when Kruger first charged in. 

At that time, what was Kruger thinking of? Did he, for a second, spare a thought to the children and felt relieved that they aren’t anywhere near the battle? Or was he, as Milly said, too caught up in bloodlust to notice anything but the fight before him? Why does Theo dread knowing the answer to these questions?

“How far are we going?” he asks when Milly continue on past the enemy lines.

Instead of answering, Milly just takes Theo into what has to be enemy command’s tent.

The first thing Theo smells even before they get near the entrance is thick cigarette smoke mixed with that of blood. Just a bit, he’s taken back to the moment in Kruger’s home. Is this supposed to be his mark or something?

Kruger is sitting in the middle of the bloodshed, seemingly unaware of the blood drenching his pants. The cigarette dangles in his mouth, a second away from falling. He looks tired. And if the bloodied corpses on the ground wearing the uniform of ranked officers on the enemy’s side are any indication, Theo gets an inkling of an idea why he might be.

Milly pulls out a handgun and aims it at Kruger.

“When dealing with Kruger, this is the most effective method,” Milly tells Theo. Then to Kruger, he says, “You happy now, you fucking psycho?”

Kruger tiredly turns towards them and gives them a lazy smile. “Come on, Colonel. You missed this.”

“How the hell did you even make it this far? It looked like everyone else was massacred out there,” Milly asks as he puts his gun away. 

“That giant Eldian… Rott, was it? He played shield for me until the smoke grenades hit. Why did that take so long, by the way?” Kruger pulls out a dog tag from his pocket. “Where’s that girl who’s always with him? She’ll want this, right?”

“Dead, I presume. I haven’t seen her. No one will think twice if you ‘accidentally’ drop that and forget about it,” Milly says.

The news of their deaths doesn’t bother Theo as much as he thought it would. He was definitely more shaken when he thought that Kruger was dead. Is that because they’re Eldians? Or because he’s already buried them in his heart ten years ago?

“Hugo wanted me to tell you that he’s waiting,” Theo says holding his hand out for Kruger to take.

Kruger glances at him as if he doesn’t know how to process that. Then he grins, looking a little shy as if embarrassed. He takes Theo’s offered hand, stumbles, and drops his cigarette that he quickly puts out. Kruger leans heavily against Theo. It sounds like Kruger’s breathing is shallow, too. How badly has he been injured? From just a glance, Theo can’t tell what’s blood from the people that Kruger killed or Kruger’s own blood.

“Commander, you’re supposed to make the younger soldiers do this,” Kruger tells him with a cheeky grin.

“Like Hugo? How old is he anyways?”

“No clue. He couldn’t remember his birthday, so I gave him mine.”

Theo sighs. “That’s not how that works.”

He notes that Milly hasn’t moved from where he is. He’s watching the two of them as if trying to puzzle something out. When Kruger notices Theo staring at Milly, he motions for the Colonel to come close.

“I want to look for her tag,” Kruger tells Theo and Milly. “Rott’s girl… Uh… Dog? Hound?”

“Wolf,” Theo corrects. “Iris Wolf.”

There’s a look in Kruger’s eyes that Theo doesn’t think he was supposed to have seen. Something infinitely sad as if he is quietly grieving something. Did Kruger care about those two more than he let on? Just a little, Theo feels grateful. Despite being abandoned by the world, those two “defective” Warriors were still able to be of use to someone who grieves their loss.

“She’s an Eldian. Who cares?” Milly groans. “There’s 200 others that you led to their deaths that I need to collect body parts of. Why don’t you make yourself useful and do that instead?”

“Why, don’t you know, Colonel?” Kruger asks, grinning wolfishly. “That’s just what a ‘War Hero’ does. Didn’t you want me to pretend to be a hero?”

Milly rubs his temples. “Why do you only take my advice when it causes the most amount of trouble? Commander Magath, I wish you the best of luck with this brat under your command.” 

Kruger sniggers and turns to Theo.

“Let’s look for that tag.”

Almost as soon as Kruger stumbles out of the tent, he’s out like a light. And although Theo supposes that makes sense, given all that Kruger probably endured, he now has to look for that tiny tag in this field of corpses.

Just a little, Theo resents this man for being able to sleep so soundly.

 

*

 

The next time Eren wakes up, he’s in a hospital room with the children looking at him anxiously. They brighten at the sight of him, and for just a second, he almost forgets who he is and is tempted to hold them in relief. But in the end, he’s “Eren Kruger” as he should be. He doesn’t allow himself such a weakness.

“Morning, you brat,” Magath greets. 

He holds a bottle of water with a straw already inside of it for Eren to drink. It takes a lot of effort, but Eren manages to push himself up slightly to drink. Was he more injured than he gave himself credit for? He stopped healing himself when he attacked those people in the tent, because he needs some kind of physical injuries to not be suspicious (He’s not going to make that mistake again). But maybe he had some other injuries that he didn’t realize? Because it's painful to just breath.

“You’ve been asleep for two days. The battle is over. They’re still counting the dead. Also…”

Magath nods at the kids. After a bit of a hesitation, Porco puts a dog tag in Eren’s hand.

“Iris Wolf’s tag. It took us a while to find it, so you’re welcome.”

He must be really out of it if he actually missed that rebellious tone of Porco’s voice. 

Slowly, Eren lifts the tag closer to his face to see it clearly. The tag looks just like any other soldier’s. Just from this tag, no one would be able to tell that Iris was an Eldian.

How unfair. 

He sighs and falls back to bed, feeling so damned tired. Oswald’s tag was in his pocket, but he’s no longer dressed in his uniform. Someone probably put it to the side somewhere. Eren wants to unite the tags at least. He wants to hold the tags close to himself before he has to give them both back. Even if he was not allowed to show it, they were still precious comrades who shared the battlefield with him.

“Your broken arm is broken even further. You fractured your ribs, and your ankle is sprained. And yes, you have a concussion at least. All in all, it’s a very short list of injuries, considering what you went through,” Magath informs him. 

There’s possibly more that was said. But Eren can’t focus on the words.

He falls asleep to Theo’s lecture about being a selfish brat.

 

*

 

Reiner freezes when he hears talking by Kruger’s hospital room. 

They’re in a general hospital near the frontlines, since it wasn’t like the medical tent could’ve helped with Kruger’s injuries. That and it would be a national shame to not give the best of the best medical care to a War Hero.

At first, the Warriors were tasked with staying by Kruger’s side with the excuse of possible assassins. Marcel suspected that Magath did that to keep them as far away from the battlefield as possible, but none of them have any evidence of it. And now that majority of the gorey clean up has been more or less finished, Magath has been less stingy about letting the Warriors run errands. 

They do, of course, still rotate shifts to make sure someone is always watching Kruger. Their excuse is in case of an assassin still. But everyone just uses the shift to rest.

“You are a fucking idiot, Kruger,” Colonel Milly growls.

Reiner flinches and flattens himself against the wall to make himself a small target. It’s not like he wants to eavesdrop, okay? Their voices are just naturally loud so it carries out to where he is. He’s an unwilling listener. 

“That’s mean, Colonel. I’m injured. You’re supposed to compliment me.”

“If you deserve compliments, I would give it.” Then with a frustrated sigh, Milly adds, “Magath isn’t that kind of man. Even if you make up all those crazy things about being a mad dog or what have you, he’ll treat you the same as he always has. I don’t even get why you bothered with such lies. He probably saw through you the minute you wanted to find that Eldian’s dog tag. You’re always so fucking soft.”

“I have a concussion. You’re not supposed to make me think,” Kruger protests.

There’s a small pause before Milly asks, “Are you that scared of that assassin? That that person might kill those close to you? I know you’re not scared of death. You’re too suicidal for that. So it has to be your ‘oh-so-noble’ want of pushing people away from yourself.”

“Colonel, don’t be like that-”

“After everything I did for you, you’re not even going to answer me?”

Reiner hear something clack and imagines that it’s Kruger’s teeth as his mouth closes. Another second passes in silence before… 

“I just… I just want to die alone. Without leaving behind a single person to mourn me. Without anyone else getting caught in the crossfire. Without anyone noticing.”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from the man who likes to collect loyal dogs.”

Kruger lets out a sound of protest. “I’m not collecting-”

“It’s too late to want to die alone. For a man who cares so much about others, you’re so damned clueless when it comes to others’ feelings. What are you always so damned scared of? Kruger, no matter how many nasty rumors about yourself you spread, no matter how many lies you tell, it’s too late. Your squad members, Commander Magath, I, and whoever else around you have all seen through it all. Why else do you think the higher ups are so eager to give you the title ‘War Hero?’”

“I didn’t ask to be a hero,” Kruger growls. This sounds a little like these two have had this conversation before. Like it’s an age-old discussion between the two. “Stop looking to me! Stop protecting me. Just… just let me die alone when it’s time. Why the hell can’t you people just leave me alone?”

“Because you won’t leave us alone.”

Reiner thinks he’s listened in long enough. He should walk around the hall a bit before entering, just so he doesn’t look too suspicious if he walks in now. So he’ll just walk around the hall… around the hospital… maybe he’ll just go back to the others and relinquish his shift to someone else.

He runs a little ways down the halls when Milly exits, shaking his head with a scowl. Reiner counts to a thousand afterwards before knocking on Kruger’s door.

“H-hello Captain! How are you doing?” he asks with a nervous smile.

There’s no sign that Kruger just had a heart-to-heart with his former commanding officer. For that, Reiner is infinitely grateful. It makes pretending that everything is okay easy.

“Better than I thought I’d be,” Kruger says.

Reiner nods and moves to sit on the chair by Kruger’s bedside.

“Any chance you have any sweets on you?”

“Sorry, Captain. It was all confiscated by the nurses,” Reiner admits with a sheepish blush.

“Shame.”

Kruger doesn’t look like a hero at all in a hospital gown. Reiner didn’t realize just how much of the uniform made the image of a War Hero complete. Like this, Kruger looks like any young man you’d see off the streets.

Was this the image Eike had of Kruger? Or was her image of him more in line with Reiner’s “War Hero?” 

“C-Captain… I need to tell you…”

He finds the rest of the words frozen in his mouth. Yelena had warned him not to say anything about Eike to Kruger. And after overhearing Kruger’s talk with Colonel Milly, Reiner knows that she’s right. He shouldn’t tell Kruger about what happened to her.

But when Kruger’s eyes set on him with a gentleness that seems to encourage Reiner to speak up, he loses all will to keep silent.

“I’m so sorry. But Eike is dead. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Reiner knows that he should look Kruger in the eyes to convey his sincerity. But he’s too frightened. He wanted to come to the battlefield to show that he’s strong. To show that he was the correct choice. That he is deserving of the Armored Titan. But all he ever does is mess up. All he ever does it cause more grief and problem for everyone.

“Did she come after you?” comes the question that Reiner didn’t expect.

Slowly, he looks up to Kruger, but the Captain isn’t looking at him. Kruger is glaring at a spot on the wall, possibly just keeping himself from lashing out. Reiner gulps.

“I-I know you hate Eldians. A-and-”

“Reiner.” Kruger’s voice is calm. He turns to look at Reiner with patience that Reiner doesn’t feel like he deserves. “I asked you a question.”

He feels like he’s being weak. He feels like he’s nothing but a failure. He couldn’t do something as simple as keep this a secret from the Captain? 

Reiner nods.

Kruger lets out a soft sigh and covers his eyes. “I see.”

“I-I’m sorr-”

He flinches when he suddenly feels Kruger’s hand on his head. It’s rough, but Kruger ruffles his hair. Just like how Reiner wanted. Just like Reiner wished for. 

“It’s nothing you need to apologize for. Eike is… was someone who was set in her beliefs. If anything, it’s my fault for making you go through that. I’m sorry, Reiner.”

That’s… that’s not right. That’s horribly wrong. Reiner’s the one at fault. Reiner should be the one apologizing. But he can’t seem to do that right.

He shudders to gasp for air as the hot tears begin to roll down his cheeks. 

“I… I was so scared,” he chokes out. “B-but she’s important to you. A-and now she’s-”

“She lived a long and happy life, Reiner. There’s nothing you need to apologize for.”

Kruger listens to his babbles as he cries and cries and cries. And yeah. Reiner thought so before, too. But the War Hero is someone who is far too kind to hate Eldians. 

Colonel Milly is right. It’s impossible to not look up to someone like Kruger when he reaches out so gently like this.

 

*

 

Once upon a time, Eike told him that he looked the coolest when he was smoking. 

“So when a battle is over, the best way to honor the fallen is by smoking, don’t you think?” 

So even though the previous Kruger never wanted him to pick up this filthy habit, Eren found himself lighting a cigarette after a battle. 

“Hey Eike, forgive me for lying to you, won’t you?”

He wonders how she would have reacted if he had told her the truth. Would her immense hatred for Eldians have slowly ebbed away with time? Or would she have attempted to kill him and have died much sooner? What was more important to her? His existence or her hate?

“You’re lucky that I got here on time,” the military doctor grumbles. “Be more careful about the injuries you get, won’t you? I can’t fly to every hospital to make sure they don’t discover who you are every time.”

“You say that every time, Niko. But you always rush to me anyways,” Eren points out.

Niko snatches the unlit cigarette out of Eren’s mouth. “Don’t smoke in the hospital.”

“I just survived a bloodbath. Can’t you give me a little reward?”

“Oh please. This would never have happened if you just sent in the Warriors. Speaking of, why didn’t you? Wasn’t it more troublesome to convince your men to die for you? Or maybe you were trying to compare dick sizes? ‘My Attack Titan is still stronger than all of yours put together!’ Honestly, you and Kruger are exactly the same.”

Eren doesn’t want to answer. For a doctor that the previous Kruger relied on to fake his Marleyan pedigree, Niko’s bedside manner is so severely lacking. Who in their right mind let this guy become a doctor anyways?

“… Did you see yourself in those kids? You were about their age when you got the Attack Titan, didn’t you?”

“Don’t read my mind, Niko. It’s rude.”

The doctor sighs heavily. “You have about four years left, don’t you? Have you found someone to inherit it next?”

“Not yet.”

“Then a request, if you will? Don’t pick a willful brat like yourself.”

Eren sticks his tongue out at Niko, only to get his forehead flicked. “Ow! I’m injured!”

Niko puts the cigarette in his own mouth and lights it. After a drag, he returns it to Eren.

“Nice going, Mr. War Hero. Of the 200 people who volunteered, four people made it out alive. You, and three others you sent away from the battle. Good thing you’ve been transferred away from the frontlines, eh? Who knows how many more people you would’ve killed otherwise.”

With such biting words, Niko heads for the door.

“Oh, don’t forget to air out the room once you finish smoking. You’ll get into trouble with the nurses otherwise.”

Then the asshole leaves, knowing that Eren can’t physically move to open the window without magically healing his injuries.

Damn that doctor.

 

*

 

Kruger is given the okay to be transported to the hospital in Liberio after two weeks. 

With a victory that tastes of bitterness, the Warriors return home.


	8. The Past of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! The chapter that no one asked for. The beginnings of Eren's backstories. ^^ Don't worry, after this one, we'll be back to our regular fluff....
> 
> This is kind of random, but I've actually never met any nurse that wasn't scary. Like I've met some really nice and lovely nursing majors as well as some really cruddy ones. Every single one of them were stressed. But when it comes to actual nurses, they all terrify me.
> 
> Oh, just a heads up that I'll be away for the weekend plus extra and have no clue about internet/writing time. So if you don't hear me for a while, that's why. ^^ If you want to check whether I'm alive, twitter is where I'm always on.... usually. lol. See you next whenever the next chapter finishes!

The anger that he thought had been extinguished when they arrived on the frontlines seems to have ignited again ever since his return home. And he gets it, alright? He knows that his mom is just worried. He knows that he’s making everyone else feel awkward. He knows that he shouldn’t take this to heart.

But Marcel is so sick and tired of being treated as a kid when he’s supposed to be a Warrior.

Not just from his mom and his dad, either. But also from Magath and Kruger. Those two can think themselves clever all they want for tricking everyone on the frontlines. But Marcel isn’t an idiot. He knows what was hidden behind those discriminating comments. He knows they were protected.

Kruger chose to sacrifice the 200 volunteers for the sake of not sending the Warriors to battle.

It burns Marcel. 

He knew that Kruger didn’t consider them as weapons. He knew that Kruger was kinder than he first guessed. He just didn’t think that that kindness will be something this suffocating. 

To be seen as someone that Kruger can be rely on… Is that too far-fetched a dream?

“We have today off, don’t we?” Porco asks when he spots Marcel getting ready to leave.

Technically, Magath gave them three days off after returning from the frontlines as a reward. The first day was in conjunction with them coming back. The second (aka today) and third days are dedicated to resting. And on the fourth (when they gather for training), they will join in the festival Liberio is throwing in the honor of the victory as part of security team. Apparently, there’s supposed to be a ball that night, too. But Marcel has no idea if Kruger will be healed enough to go there.

“We do,” Marcel agrees.

Porco’s eyes narrow at the bag Marcel has slung over his shoulders. “Then where are you going?”

Looks like he’s been caught. Marcel offers a sheepish smile, but Porco scowls in answer. He can’t get out of this one with a smile, huh?

“I… was g-going to buy some sweets.”

“To bring to Captain Kruger’s hospital room?” Porco guesses with a look of disgust.

Marcel nods.

Porco’s scowl deepens. “Without me?”

His little brother is so obvious. 

“I thought you were dodging me and mom,” Marcel can’t help but to tease.

“Shut up. Wait here. I’m going to get my things.”

 

*

 

“You’re… you’re still going to hold the ball?” Eren asks in disbelief. “Willy, think this through. It’s bad enough that there’s someone after my life, but I… I can’t dance. This ball is a bad idea.”

Willy looks as frustrated as Eren is shocked. He angrily bites into the cookie he brought, surprising Eren. Typically, Willy refrains from eating the sweets if he can help it, knowing that Eren keeps track of exactly how many Willy eats. But it seems that he’s too beside himself with anger to care.

So he can make that kind of face, too, huh?

“I told you, didn’t I? You have three days after you return from the frontlines. I was nice enough to give you an extra day for rest, so you should be grateful to me.”

What childish logic. Is he that mad that Eren returned with all these injuries? It’s not like he went out of his way to be injured to dodge the ball. He wishes there was an easy way to convince Willy of that.

“I get it! I get it. I’ll learn how to dance and be at the ball, even though I’m half-dead on my feet.”

Willy points accusingly at Eren. “You don’t have any right to snap at me! I gave you the tools. I gave you the opportunity. And you just threw it all back in my face and got yourself injured like this! That’s not even mentioning the sheer number of people that died. Why the hell didn’t you use the Warriors?”

“Didn’t want to,” Eren says, glancing away from Willy. 

Good thing he already has an excuse lined up.

“They are weapons for the sake of moments like these. Eren, I told you-”

“I didn’t want to rely on Eldian powers,” Eren grits out. “Why the hell do I have to be saved by them?”

The expression on Willy’s face is soft. Not sad. Not angry. Not spiteful. Just… gentle. Like he knows exactly what Eren is thinking of. Like he knows exactly what Eren has been through. Like he knows and sympathizes.

It makes Eren want to hit him, just to make it go away. 

What the hell would Willy know? What would the sheltered heir of a privileged “honorary Marleyan” know? They don’t even wear armbands, for pity’s sake! The fear that sinks in from the depths of your heart when you stand on the battlefield as your comrades get sniped from your side… The cold realization that this is it. There was never any “bigger picture” or “grand scheme of life.” 

There’s just this. 

Hopelessly dying without having achieved anything. 

“You didn’t want to put children in the line of fire, did you?” Willy asks.

How the hell does everyone manage to predict his thoughts? Is he that obvious? Or are these people all much kinder than they pretend to be? Then if everyone were to stop pretending, would the world be kinder? 

Hah. Look at him thinking so naively when he already knows the truth.

Eren refuses to meet Willy’s eyes. But that seems answer enough.

“You’ve long stopped seeing them as ‘Eldians’ or ‘weapons,’ haven’t you? Or maybe you’ve actually never considered them as that from the beginning? Did you see them as ‘squad members’ the minute you were transferred? Or… maybe you don’t actually care about the distinction between ‘Marleyans’ and ‘Eldians.’”

Shut up. There’ no need to analyze his heart. He gets it, alright? The choice he made was foolish. That much, no one will fight him on. But to question everything that he has done, every thought process, every motivation seems like too much work.

Can’t they just move on with a simple “He hates Eldians?”

“Next time, you have to use the Warriors. You understand that, don’t you?”

How odd.

Eren thought that Willy would yell at him. That Willy would scold him, lecture him, and groan at him. That Willy would get endlessly frustrated. 

And then and only then, Eren realizes that it’s because that’s the act.

The quiet Willy before him now is the real one. The one with brows knitted in worry. The one with the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. The one right now almost begging Eren to use the Warriors to keep himself and the others safe. 

This is the real Willy.

For whatever reasons, the performer has put his act to the side to expose his heart. Does he think that that’s supposed to make this better? That Eren will forgive him because of this small gesture? 

Willy ate three of the cookies. Eren counted.

“You are my Helos. You can’t die that easily. That’s why, use everything I give you and then some. Eren, please. I can’t lose you before the plan even starts.”

It completely kills Eren’s anger. The biting words he’s been mulling over his head, the accusations he was going to make, the sarcastic and passive-aggressive remarks all seem to disappear with a simple sigh. Because yeah. He does forgive Willy.

Eren Jaeger has always been a simple person, and it seems that the War Hero Eren Kruger has inherited that trait.

It was just three cookies, after all. There's still the rest of the box.

“What is your plan anyways?” he asks.

There’s a small pause before Willy grins widely, slipping back to his performer self. Eren understands that he won’t be getting an answer any time soon.

“Unfortunately for you, I can’t leave these cookies with you. The nurses were really strict about that!” Willy says as he picks up the box of cookies he brought.

… Wait… 

“H-hey! Wait a minute-”

“Enjoy having no sweets until you fully recover!”

With a merry laugh, Willy leaves the room with the cookies.

That damned bastard just came in, ate three cookies in front of Eren while berating him, and left? 

The true monster, Eren realizes, was Willy all along.

 

*

 

There are some scary looking guards standing by Kruger’s hospital room. They prevent anyone from getting too close. Even when Marcel and Porco explained who they were and why they wanted to see Kruger, the guards just stared at them in absolute cold silence. Having no choice, the two of them retreated to the other side of the hall, watching the guards glare at anyone walking by.

“Are they here because of the assassin?” Porco guesses.

Although that was Marcel’s immediate guess, there’s something about the guards that makes him rethink that. Or maybe he thinks that way, because he finds it improbable that the military would hire what looks to be private guards for the protection of a single Captain. No, they're more likely to redirect soldiers to do that instead. 

“Oh, someone’s coming out.”

There’s a brightly laughing man who holds a box in one hand. He gives a cheerful wave to Kruger and closes the door. The minute the door closes, the smile on the man’s face disappears completely. Not a single mark of joy is on his face as he gives the box to one of the guards with the order, “Get rid of this.” Then the man walks away, the rest of the guards falling in line behind him.

Porco and Marcel wait a few more seconds before approaching the unguarded door. 

“Captain Kruger?” they ask as they open the door.

They don’t expect a sharp, “What?”

When Kruger’s eyes land on the two of them, though, his anger melts to guilt. The Captain covers his eyes, rubbing his temples.

“Sorry,” he tells them. “Thought that bastard came back.”

That “bastard” looked like someone pretty high up, if the guards were any indication. Was it a nobleman? Someone keeping their eyes on Kruger for their own nefarious purposes? Or worse, a suitor…? 

“It’s just us,” Marcel assures him.

Kruger sighs and moves his hand away to look at them seriously. “Any chance you have sweets?”

“No sir. It was all confiscated by the nurses.”

“Is that so?” Kruger sounds tired as he closes his eyes.

Bertolt once mentioned that Kruger gets headaches from not eating sweets. Marcel did some research on that and found drinking water could help with sugar cravings. But he’s not too sure about the headaches caused by it. Just in case, though, he brought two bottles of water for the Captain.

“Here,” Marcel says, putting them both by the bedside. “Drinking water helps with sweet tooth.”

Kruger must really hate that, because he actually glowers at Marcel. Then he must have realized something because his eyes widen.

“You guys are Warriors, right? Handpicked and trained to be the best of the best?”

“Y-yes.”

Marcel doesn’t like that look in Kruger’s eyes.

“Did you see the guy who left this room earlier? The blonde guy with a box?”

The two nod slowly.

“Rob him. Steal that box.”

… That box has sweets inside it, huh?

“You’re not supposed to have any sweets,” Porco reminds the Captain with a scowl. “And how the hell are we supposed to rob a guy with that many guards?”

Kruger’s shoulders slouch, and he covers his eyes again with both hands. “I’m going to die.”

Porco rolls his eyes. “If the frontlines can’t kill you, this won’t.”

“Why are you guys here anyways? To mock me?” Kruger grumbles, not moving his hands.

Their Captain seems more and more like a brat with each passing moment. He must really be craving sugar, huh? Marcel verbally offers the bottled water to Kruger again, only to receive a resentful glare from between the Captain’s fingers. 

Ladies and gentlemen and everyone else, this is the War Hero, Captain Kruger.

“We were going to bring you sweets at first,” Marcel admits. “But the nurses here are really scary.”

Kruger seems to at least take that into consideration. With a soft sigh, he accepts the bottled water. 

“Ah, that’s right. Since you guys are here, can you do me a favor?”

“We can’t sneak sweets in, and we are not robbing someone for you,” Porco says immediately.

Kruger shakes his head and motions at the closet. “There are two dog tags in the breast pocket of my jacket. Take those back to their families when you return to the internment zone, will you?”

Dog tags? One of those should be the tag of “Iris Wolf” that they spent hours searching through the corpses and the battlefield for. Then is the other one for “Oswald Rott?” Since those two are Eldians, Kruger probably feels reluctant to enter the internment zone to give those back, huh? Just how is anyone supposed to be fooled by Kruger’s supposed hate for Eldians when he’s like this?

Porco searches through the closet and returns with the two dog tags. It’s as Marcel guessed. 

The names “Iris Wolf” and “Oswald Rott” stare back at the two brothers.

“We don’t know their family. But we’ll do our best to return it,” Marcel promises.

Kruger’s eyes are set on the tree branch outside of his window. It feels like he’s making an effort to seem like he doesn’t care, so Marcel decides not to tease his Captain… 

“For someone who hates Eldians, you sure care a lot!”

… Too much, anyways.

 

*

 

Theo stares blankly at Kruger’s serious expression. 

How did things get to this point?

He came to visit the annoying brat of a Captain with a bag of sweets that were confiscated by terrifying nurses who threw around scary words like “forbidden” and “can cause death.” When he got to the room, the Galliard brothers flinched and quickly announced their plans to leave. They left before Theo could properly lecture them about not going against the scary nurses. 

And then…

And then…

Kruger asked him if he knew how to dance. When Theo responded in positive, Kruger made a face like he hates this with all his fiber of being. With such a reluctant expression, he held his hand out and said, “Then teach me.”

…

Theo has absolutely no idea how to react to this.

“Isn’t your rib fractured? Even if your sprain is healed, there’s still your broken arm and… You can’t dance? At all?”

Kruger’s cheeks redden but the stupidly reluctant expression doesn’t change. Does this brat really think this is how you’re supposed to ask someone for a favor? And why the hell does Theo find it so damned charming?

“I… know the theory behind it,” Kruger answers delicately. “But I never needed to do it myself.”

What the hell does that even mean? The… the theory of…? Why does every other thing that comes out of this man’s mouth gives Theo a headache?

“Is this about the ball? Kruger, no one expects you to dance when you’re this injured.”

It seems that’s exactly what the problem was, because Kruger stares blankly at him. Then he lets out a sigh of relief.

“Are you serious? So I don’t have to learn?”

“Well, I expect you to know how to in the future. And no more of this ‘I only dance with death.’”

Kruger’s cheeks dust pink. But it seems that’s the extent of the embarrassment for this, because he can still meet Theo’s eyes.

“Why are we even bothering with balls anyways? Aren’t they more trouble than they’re worth?”

“Because it’s the fastest way to get funding for the Warriors Division.” 

Theo knows when it clicks because Kruger lowers his gaze. 

At the end of the day, the Warriors Division is something experimental. With how badly it ended last time, no one wanted to restart this program if not for the looming need of loyal Eldians to take on the Titans so they don’t lose the power for good. The funds for the Division, therefore, are minimal at best. After all, the funding for them would have to be redirected from other military divisions. So it was decided that if the Warriors Division wants more funds, they must procure it themselves. 

“Am I to understand that I will be selling myself during this ball and any future ones for the sake of the Warriors?”

… Trust Kruger to phrase it in the worst way possible.

“I wouldn’t necessarily phrase it like that, but essentially, yes.”

“So I have to learn eventually, huh?” Kruger sighs. He holds his hand up for Theo again. “Then I might as well as learn it now. C’mon, Commander. Help me up.”

Theo shakes his head. “I’d rather you rest. Why do you need to learn now?”

“To minimize the chance of someone annoying becoming my dance instructor and ruining my plans of dying a bachelor.”

When Kruger phrases it like that, Theo just barely holds himself back from smacking this brat.

 

*

 

The family names “Rott” and “Wolf” are not common ones you hear in the internment zone. According to Marcel, it’s probably because of the whole “taboo” thing. 

Porco thinks the whole situation is kind of stupid. But Marcel looks like he’s having fun with the whole “Mystery behind the Taboo,” so he decides to keep his opinion to himself. If this means that Marcel will stop sulking about the fight with their mom, then so be it. Porco will be the bigger man.

“… so we should talk to Doctor Jaeger, since he’s the oldest person we know!”

“Sounds great,” Porco says even though he missed majority of the explanation. 

But when they get to the Jaeger Clinic, they find a notice on the door that says that the clinic has closed for the day. There’s no reason for the closing. But it informs anyone who needs medical assistance to go to the general hospital for Eldians. 

“Aw. So much for that,” Marcel pouts. 

“Do you guys need something?”

The two of them turn to see Rosen, who has a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He pushes his glasses up and looks to them anxiously as if worried that they might be hurt.

“Oh, maybe you know something about them, since you’re pretty old,” Porco says.

Both Marcel and Rosen wince at the words. Was that too harsh? But it gets the job done, doesn’t it? 

“Do you know where we can find the families ‘Wolf’ and ‘Rott?’”

The expression on Rosen’s face freezes. He looks a little like someone punched him in the stomach, like he’s struggling to keep his breathing normal. With a strained smile, he lets out a nervous laugh.

“Well, you guys are in luck,” he says. “I’m going to go meet them… er… sort of. Do you guys want to come with me?”

“Yes!” Marcel answers before Porco can.

Rosen looks a little like he wants to burst into tears, but he keeps his smile on his face. “Promise me that you guys will be on your best behaviors?”

“Of course!”

 

*

 

“Kruger, your breathing is uneven. Are you alright?”

Eren scowls at Magath, who is paying more attention to how he thinks Eren is doing than the steps to this dance.

“I’m fine,” he grits out. 

And if he isn’t, he can just heal himself bits at a time so that he’ll be miraculously all better when it’s time for the ball. Or at least his ribs will be. He doesn’t think he should heal his broken arm that fast. That just seems like signing himself up for a lot of trouble he doesn’t want to deal with.

“We can stop for-”

“Commander, we just took a three-minute break. I thought you were going to help me.”

This man has no intention of helping, huh? 

With a soft sigh, Eren lets Magath help him sit back on his bed. “Looks like I”ll have no choice but to seduce the nursing staff.”

Magath snorts. “Good luck with that.”

Eren wonders if he can use this short session as a reason why he doesn’t need any dance lessons to Willy. Probably not, right? 

He isn’t looking forward to that one either.

 

*

 

They arrive at the general hospital for Eldians, much to Marcel’s surprise. There’s a question at the tip of his tongue, but he finds himself unable to voice it at the look on Rosen’s face.

Quietly, he and Porco follow Rosen’s lead through the twists and turns of the hospital until they get to a hallway with other people with bouquets of flowers. It takes Marcel a second to put together that this is a gathering of those mourning. From what Rosen had said earlier, he guesses that it has to do with Rott and Wolf’s deaths. Doctor Jaeger and his wife are both here, too.

“I thought you weren’t going to show,” a lady remarks when they get close. 

There are clear signs that she’s been crying. But she manages to smile at Rosen anyways. She tilts her head to the side but doesn’t make eye contact with either Marcel or Porco. Instead, she keeps her eyes focused on the ground.

“Who are those two with you?” she asks.

“Ria… Your ability to tell that it’s me is as terrifying as ever. As for these two… They are Marcel and Porco Galliard. They’re the new Warriors. Marcel, Porco, this is Ria Klein. She’s… your predecessor, I suppose. She used to be a Warrior.”

The lady chuckles lightly. She finally glances up, revealing her milky white eyes that doesn’t focus on anything. She’s blind, Marcel realizes with a start. And immediately, all he can think about is Rott’s words of being “defective” Warriors.

“You speak like you weren’t one yourself, Rose… Porco and Marcel, was it? Nice to meet you. I wish we could have met under better circumstances. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, right? Rose here is horrible at explaining things.”

“What uh… is happening here?” Marcel asks the same time Porco asks, “Are you a defective Warrior like Rott and Wolf?”

It seems that Porco arrived on the same conclusion as Marcel. But that’s a bit… 

“Porco, that’s rude!” Marcel scolds.

“You know of them?” Ria asks, her eyebrows raising to her hairline. Then she must have realized something because she lets out a soft sound. “That’s right. You guys recently returned from the frontlines, didn’t you? Then were you two there? To witness their deaths, I mean.”

Marcel begins to shake his head and then realizes the fault in that. “No. We were kept away from the battle. Oh, but we do have these.”

The two of them hand over the two dog tags to Rosen, whose face falls at the sight of them.

“They’re dog tags for Iris and Os,” Rosen tells Ria before handing them over for her to touch.

Ria takes a moment to examine them. 

Then she asks, “Were you tasked with getting those to their families?” 

“Yes,” Marcel answers. 

“I see… Unfortunately, the Rott family has long been sent to Heaven. As for Wolf… The last remaining family member just passed away.”

Marcel glances at the mourning people in the hallway. Is that why these people are all gathered here? So it wasn’t for both Rott and Wolf. Although, he supposes it could have been a combination for all three of them. 

“Iris Wolf had an older brother,” Ria continues. “He was a Warrior Candidate along with the rest of us. But unfortunately, he suffered an accident that left him in a coma. Iris refused to give up on him. But since she’s not around anymore, we sent him to join his sister.”

This is probably not something he should ask. He probably shouldn’t bring this up at all. But Marcel can’t stop himself.

“Is that accident the taboo that everyone is forbidden to talk about?”

“Marcel,” Rosen says, his voice tense. “It’s best you don’t ask-”

“It is,” Ria says. 

“Ria, you can get in trouble for this.”

She laughs at the worried look on Rosen’s face. “I’m blind and spend my days wondering when I’ll finally get to join Eren. I’m fine with a bit of trouble. But if you’re that worried, let’s move somewhere else to talk about this.”

 

*

 

Rosen leaves them with Ria in an empty room, citing that he needs to pay his respects before they talk. But Ria seems to take that as a chance to let them ask whatever they’d like to know while the “worry wart” is away.

Porco isn’t sure how to feel about the whole thing. Marcel looks excited as he seems to run through the list of questions he must have been building in his head all this time. Porco doesn’t have anything like that. He’s not even sure if this is a good idea. It’s a taboo for a reason, isn’t it?

“What happened with the Warriors Program? Why is it a taboo to talk about it?”

Ria looks amused by the questions. “That’s all you’re going to ask?”

“I have more. But I want the basics before I figure out what else to ask.”

That’s Marcel for you. Already has a road map of the things to ask. But Porco will be lying if he said he wasn’t completely curious.

“Alright. I’ll start with the basics then. It was… about 13 years ago, I think. The Warrior Program first started then. At the time, there were eight of us. You’ve met Rose, Oswald, Iris, and me. Sigi is Iris’s brother who just passed away. You probably met  Mariele in passing if you ever stop by the flower cart that goes through the internment zone. Don works at the cemetery, so I doubt you’d have met him.”

Porco mentally counts the number of people thrown around and realizes that they’re short one.

“That’s just 7,” he says.

Ria’s lips twitch in amusement. “Indeed. About ten years ago, there was an arson. The events that surround that arson is considered ‘taboo.’ But if you guys don’t mind the potential trouble you guys can get in, I’ll tell you.”

“Please tell me,” Marcel says without any hesitation.

Porco doesn’t know where his brother gets that confidence. 

“Aren’t you scared that we’ll turn you in?” he finds himself asking her. “We could just be goading you to get you arrested.”

There’s a small pause as Ria seems to think about that. Then she holds up her forefinger and presses it to her lips.

“I won’t tell if you don’t tell.”

It reminds Porco of the time when Kruger said that while offering them lollipops after visiting the vet with the kitten he found. It seems so odd to think that the same words from the Captain will be echoed by someone who is considered a “defective” Warrior. Probably because of that, Porco decides to go along with it.

“Alright. Please tell both of us.”

Ria’s smile feels apologetic. But isn’t it too late to feel that way? Why prompt them to ask more about this if she didn’t want to talk about it? As always, all adults are nothing but hypocrites. 

“That fire started around dinner time. If it had been any normal day, all of us would have been home except for Eren. He liked to stay behind to talk to the holder of the Beast Titan. But that day was a bit different. Iris realized halfway home that she left one of her gloves back at the headquarters and threw a fit for her brother to go get it. Since Sigi looked like he was struggling to deal with Iris, I agreed to go with him and left Mariele with her.

“Rose had to talk to Commander Egghead… I-I mean Commander Earldart, the one in charge of the division at the time. Don and Os were apparently having a sparring session together. And as I’ve said, Eren liked to stay behind to talk to the holder of the Beast Titan. There were probably other janitors and staff present, but that’s pretty much the list of people present when the fire started.”

Ria pauses. At first, Porco thought maybe someone is eavesdropping. But he doesn’t see anyone. When he glances back at her expression, he realizes that she’s struggling to keep her emotions in check to tell the story.

“By the time Sigi and I realized the building was on fire, we were on the second floor with Iris’s glove. A lot of the details from that time is blurred in my mind. So I can only tell you what was officially reported. 

“Eren ran in to find Rose. Don and Os decided to help him. The three of them managed to pull out some of the other janitors and staff members. But along the way, Os got his arm caught in some debris that fell from the ceiling. That’s how Eren realized that we were stuck upstairs. Don dragged Os out, and Eren ran up to save us. I recall him leading the two of us to the lawn. His voice was so distressed and angry…

“According to Iris, after getting us out, Eren ran back in to find Rose. We never saw him again. Rose was found in the back lawn later, bruised but otherwise unharmed. There were five confirmed casualties and sixteen still missing to this day. Both Eren and the Commander were confirmed dead. Sigi fell into a coma that he never woke up from. I lost my eyesight. Os lost his arm. Don stopped speaking. We don’t know if it’s on purpose or if there’s something wrong with his brain from the smoke inhalation. Rose had a mental break down when he heard what happened. He can no longer leave the internment zone without having a panic attack.

“Now then, here’s a fun question for you two Warriors. Why did a tragedy like that receive such disdain from Marleyans? Enough to be considered a ‘taboo?’”

Why…? Isn’t it obviously to cover their carelessness? The fact that the headquarters caught on fire is embarrassing enough, but a Commander was killed as well. Of course, they would want to cover that up. By claiming that it is taboo to talk about, they easily silence anyone who knows about the events of that day. And then all they have to do is wait for the survivors or witnesses of that event to die out.

“Huh? Ria, don’t tell me you’ve already started?” Rosen asks when he returns to the room. He lets out a frustrated sigh and turns to Porco and Marcel. “Whatever you heard, I want you guys to know not to panic. I-it really wasn’t-”

“I told them about the fire,” Ria informs Rosen.

He rubs his temples. “That much? Jeesh, you don’t hold back. They’re just children, Ria. There’s no need to burden them with that.”

“But you guys were our age at the time it happened, were you?” Marcel asks.

Both Ria and Rosen seem to pause at that. 

“Can’t ever win against you in an argument, can I?” Rosen sighs.

“After that fire, the Warriors Division was shut down, wasn’t it? Otherwise, it makes no sense to call it a ‘taboo’ and to call Rott and Wolf ‘defective.’ But there’s something else I don’t understand. Both Rott and Wolf wore Warrior Candidate armbands. Why don’t you guys?”

Porco realizes with a start that Marcel is right. He didn’t even think that it was odd. He just assumed it was natural and didn’t consider that it was something worth scrutinizing. But Marcel, as always is thorough with everything. He won’t move on from this until he gets every last detail.

“Who do you think was blamed for the arson?” Ria asks. 

Rosen lets out a frustrated growl. “There’s no need to say-”

“Please tell us,” Marcel repeats.

There’s a look in Rosen’s eyes that seems like he’s mourning something. He nods and looks away. “Go ahead, Ria.”

“‘Since there’s no way a Marleyan could have caused that fire, it must have been done by Eldians.’ A lot of our family members were unfairly sent to Heaven under the guise that they were part of this ‘Eldian Restorationists’ or whatever. But if we agreed to join the Volunteer Army, then we were told that we would be able to keep our status and protect our families. But as you can see, majority of us weren’t physically well enough to fit the requirement. So aside from Iris and Os, the rest of us had our status stripped from us.”

How cruel. But that seems like something that the Marleys would come up with. What doesn’t make sense now is… 

“Then why did they restart it?” Porco asks.

Both Rosen and Ria shrug.

“You’ll have to ask your new Commander about that,” Ria says.

“No! Don’t do that!” Rosen snaps, eyes wide in alarm. “If you do that, then they’ll know someone blabbed. It’s a sure-fire way to get killed.”

Ria shrugs. “What are you so scared of, Rose? Do you prefer living like this? At the very least, we’ll be able to see Eren and the others again.”

“If we are the only casualties, I don’t care. But don’t drag these kids into this.”

Marcel frowns, but it’s Porco who speaks up first.

“We’re Warriors,” he reminds the two. “We’re not just kids.”

Porco doesn’t know what that emotion on Rosen’s face is. He isn’t even sure how to go about reading it. But Rosen lets out a short bark of a laugh that sounds more broken than human.

“That’s seriously not fair,” he mumbles.

But he won’t say more than that.

 

*

 

Finally. Peace and quiet.

Magath was chased out by the nurses who insisted that visiting hours were over. And although Eren threatened Magath that he was going to ask the nurses for dance lessons, he finds the request dying at his throat at a single look at those tired faces. 

It’ll be for the best that he doesn’t task them any further.

And no, it’s not because he’s terrified of how one of the nurses physically manhandled Magath out of the room. What are you talking about?

How did his life get so messed up like this? 

He was supposed to live his quiet life on the frontlines while discreetly stalking the Eldian Voluntary Army for someone to pass the Attack Titan to. Then he’ll fake his death on the battlefield, and no one would be any wiser except for the new Attack Titan holder. Of course, he had no intention of giving it to either Oswald or Iris, since that would require him to reveal who he really is. But there was a really promising kid that he had been eyeing before she was rudely eaten by a Titan during the whole Glory of  Gramina ordeal.

And now that he’s here, it’s gotten harder and harder to find someone older than small children to inherit it. Not to mention the daily grind of things that keep getting in the way.

“I wonder if the assassin will get me before the ball…”

He sighs.

That’s probably too hopeful, huh?

 

*

 

Rosen walks the two of them back to the Jaeger Clinic in absolute silence. No matter what Marcel tries to say, Rosen seems too lost in thought to answer back properly.

When they arrive at the clinic, Rosen seems to look around dazed as if he’s not too sure where he is himself. Then he seems to notice Marcel and Porco.

“Sorry about today,” he says with a tight smile. “You know not to say about… everything, right?”

“Yes, we know… Rosen, are you okay?” Marcel asks.

The smile on Rosen’s face freezes. “What do you mean?”

“You just look out of it.”

Porco elbows Marcel as if he’s the one who’s being tactless. Marcel doesn’t really get why, though. It’s a reasonable question to ask, isn’t it?

“I’m fine,” Rosen insists. Then he leaves after a polite goodbye.

“Marcel, the guy just lost one of his old comrades,” Porco hisses once Rosen is out of earshot. “And on top of that, another one of his comrades blabbed to us about a big secret. I think he has every reason to look out of it.”

When Porco puts it like that, Marcel realizes that it was indeed insensitive of him to ask. 

His good mood doesn’t last, unfortunately. The minute they return home, his eyes meets his mom’s and their arguments start up again.


	9. The Dance of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much later then I planned. But here it is! The promised fluff!
> 
> Warning: There's very light assumed pedophilia of an already dead oc. But if this is something that's a big no, please don't proceed.

Pieck is all but buzzing with excitement when they gather in the market place on their last day off. The plan is to hang out together to get away from their families that have become overbearing, especially with everything happening around them.

On one hand, Bertolt feels like he knows where they’re all coming from. The festivities are heart pounding and thrilling. But in the same breath, he doesn’t understand how Pieck can be so excited when they’re being tasked to be the servers for the ball tomorrow night. They’ll have to brush elbows with the higher ups of the military and fancily dressed Marley nobles.

Is it just him who feels distressed at the thought?

“You have way too much energy in the morning,” Annie mumbles.

Pieck giggles. “But guys, we’re going to a ball! I’ve only read about them in storybooks. But they’re throwing the ball in our honor!”

“It’s not really ‘our’ honor,” Reiner points out. 

“It’s for the victory from the battle we didn’t participate in,” Bertolt adds.

Pieck gives them an exasperated look. Annie at least looks amused. Colt, Porco, and Marcel joins them as the lecture begins.

“Don’t you get it, Reiner? This is our chance! Right now, our Captain is still healing, so he can’t properly defend himself from the sheer amount of desperate women who’ll throw themselves at him. We will be there to protect him. It’s the perfect chance to show him that we’re competent!”

This is typically the time that Marcel will chime in that it’s not just women who’ll be throwing themselves at Kruger. But it seems that Marcel’s bad mood from before they left for the frontlines have returned. He doesn’t even greet them, unlike Colt and Porco. It makes all of them pause in their conversation to stare at him.

“You okay?” Bertolt asks.

Marcel doesn’t answer, which makes Porco roll his eyes.

“He’s sulking because he fought with mom again last night.”

“Again?” they all ask in disbelief. 

It was odd enough when Marcel was upset before they left for the frontlines. But for him to still be angry is unheard of. Perhaps this is what the adults call a “phase?” Marcel, who is normally so calm and collected is angry for these many days as part of growing up… This is worrisome, isn’t it? Or is this normal? Are they all going to go through a phase like that? That sounds rather terrifying, too.

“You’re being ridiculous,” Pieck tells Marcel with the roll of her eyes. “Just say you’re sorry and ignore whatever else she says! It’s that simple.”

Marcel’s lips curve into a scowl. “It isn’t. Why wouldn’t I want her to understand where I’m coming from? I don’t want to go through this every time we get sent on a mission.”

That’s right. 

The reason why there is a festival and a ball is because of the war currently happening. And as long as they are Warriors, they will have to fight in that war. They are supposed to be weapons. They got away with this time around because Kruger didn’t want them to fight (Bertolt may be naive, but he isn’t an idiot. He knows that Kruger was protecting them from the frontlines with those harsh words. And if he figured it out, then he bets that everyone else has too). But that won’t be the case every time.

“Will we even get to fight?” Colt wonders.

“We are Warriors,” Marcel says sharply, making Colt flinch. “If we don’t fight, then why are we here?”

Bertolt always thought that Porco was the bloodthirsty of the brothers. But he supposes that they are brothers. 

 

*

 

It is exactly as he feared.

He stares at Willy’s wide smile in mild disgust and discomfort. By Willy’s side is Emma, who gives a polite nod as if acknowledging Eren’s feelings.

“Of course, I’ll be your dance instructor!” Willy laughs. “Your life has been targeted once too often for me to be able to trust anyone else.”

“I can think of much easier methods of killing me than through dancing,” Eren says.

Willy clicks his tongue. “It’s not about easy ways of killing. It’s about making the biggest possible scene. A bomb in a hotel? Your personal maid 'hired' by the military? C’mon, Eren. Whoever is targeting you is trying to provoke a reaction.”

“Then isn’t everyone at the ball in danger? If there’s another bomb-”

“Don’t worry about that part. We’ve tripled security and only those who had their background thoroughly checked will be allowed to enter. On top of that, the Warriors will be there to offer an extra layer of protection.”

But would that really be enough? Those kids are smart, but they’re still kids. Not to mention, they’ll be surrounded by bunch of Marleyans or others who look down on Eldians. In that kind of situation, wouldn’t those kids be in danger more so than Eren?

“Now then! Let’s start with some simple steps! If you do well, Emma’ll pour you some tea and I’ll let you eat these delicious blackberry tarts! Yup. I have permission from the nurses to let you have these.”

… Damn him.

With a soft sigh, Eren allows himself to be helped up.

Those tarts better be worth this.

 

*

 

“No, dad. I don’t need any fancy clothes,” Annie sighs. 

“But Annie, it’s a ball! Held in your honor!”

He talked to Pieck, didn’t he? She was afraid of this. Why couldn’t her dad talk to the other, more sensible Warriors and not just Pieck? Sure, they’re both girls. But that really doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

“No. It’s a ball for the Marleys to brag about the recent victory. We’re only there to be their ‘undying’ security force.”

Her dad’s face falls. “But you should still look good, shouldn’t you?”

It takes everything she has to not roll her eyes. Why can’t her dad be more reasonable? She liked him better when they were training. But ever since she was chosen to inherit the Female Titan, he suddenly seems to have remembered that she was his child and not just a tool to become an Honorary Marleyan.

Everyone around her so selfishly care only about themselves. 

She feels tired dealing with them all.

 

*

 

“You are the worst student I’ve ever had to teach! How the hell did you end up stepping on my foot that many times?” Willy grumbles as they sip tea together. 

Emma looks like she’s struggling not to burst out laughing and is failing remarkably. Eren doesn’t get why. He thought he was being a great student. Minus the part where he took everything Willy said too far. But that’s neither here nor there. 

“You’re just bad at teaching,” Eren counters as he reaches for one of the tarts.

Willy gives him a look like he really wants to stop him but seems to relent in the end. He shakes his head sourly at Eren.

But it’s not a no.

The tart is not sweet. Eren figures that’s how Willy got it past the nurses, and he gets that, he really does. It’s just… 

“It’s not sweet at all,” Eren sighs, feeling disappointed.

“Don’t you get the feeling that you’re eating way too much sweets?” Willy points out. “The nurses said it could lead to an early death.”

Eren throws whatever else is part of that lecture out of his head. Even if he were to die an early death, it won’t be enough to stop his Titan powers from healing him. Short of a Titan eating him or his time limit catching up to him, he doesn’t think he can die. Therefore, it should be fine to indulge on the one thing that makes him happy. In fact, the previous Kruger liked to indulge in cigarettes. 

And if it just so happens that Eren never got to eat a lot of sweets growing up because his dad and grandpa were doctors… Well, that’s not really any of Willy’s business, now is it?

“It’s healthier than smoking.”

“Which you also do,” Willy reminds him with a scowl.

He heard about that, too, huh? Damn. Is there anything that this man doesn’t bother listening in on? It feels like he knows about majority of the things that happen around Eren as they happen.

“I’m not saying you need to live like a saint. But I would really appreciate it if you could be more mindful about your health… and living in general.”

“You nag like a housewife,” Emma sniggers, looking far too pleased.

Willy seems to take great offense at that. He protests, which just makes her more giddy. 

Eren decides to ignore the siblings for another tart.

“Hey, how come you said it was Emma who made these sweets?” Eren finds himself asking, just to interrupt their yelling.

“Because everyone wants to eat sweets made by beautiful women,” Willy says. He nods to himself as if mentally patting his own back for being so clever.

What a shallow-

Emma raises a brow and sips her tea. “Hm? Wasn’t it because you were too nervous to admit that you spent two days prior testing your ‘product’ to be fit for a Hero’s mouth?”

How the hell can Emma say something so embarrassing with a straight face? Eren feels his face heat up.

“I-it’s not like that! Emma, shut up! Eren, don’t listen to her!”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Eren quickly insists.

“Then why is your face so red?!”

 

*

 

Colt glances at the Galliard brothers. It’s just the three of them left, now that everyone’s gone home. This is probably a good time as ever to say goodbye, but there’s something that’s making Colt hesitate.

“Marcel, what are you looking for?”

It looks like Marcel didn’t realize that he was being so obvious. He flinches at the question and looks at Colt guiltily. Porco rolls his eyes at his brother.

“He’s looking for a flower cart. Apparently there’s one that goes through randomly.”

A flower cart? Are they talking about the one ran by that lady… What was her name now? Forest? Jungle? Lawn? He thinks it’s one of those, but he can’t recall which one.

“Why?” he asks instead.

Porco takes on a defensive stance like he’s personally offended that Colt would dare ask such a question. Marcel, however, doesn’t show even a hint of that. He just smiles sheepishly.

“Since we can’t take sweets to the Captain, I thought we could get him some flowers.”

From the side-glance that Porco gives Marcel, Colt surmises that that’s not the case at all. But if Marcel doesn’t want him to know, then it’s probably for a reason. Perhaps this is Marcel’s shy why of hiding that he’d getting those flowers for his mom? But Marcel isn’t the type to be shy. If it was Porco, that would be much believable.

Marcel is clearly up to something. But what? And why?

“I think I remember her being in the southern part. You know, where the butcher is?” Colt says.

“Thanks!”

Before Colt can get any more information from them, the two of them rush off. 

This is most definitely suspicious. But he gets the feeling that if he were to follow, he will have to suffer through both of their wrath. Porco’s wrath tend to be simple since it’s usually just a few kicks here and there. But Marcel?

Colt shudders.

Oh well. He might as well as get home to rest for tomorrow.

 

*

 

Willy’s eyebrows fly to his hairline.

“W-what…?! That’s not fair! That’s seriously not fair! You haven’t stepped on her foot once!”

With the excuse of “I don’t want to be stepped on anymore,” Willy passed the dance partner role to his sister. And he’s now coming face to face with Eren’s pettiness.

Emma doesn’t seem to mind at all as she smiles coyly at him. Does she realize his intentions? He thinks she might have, because she giggles and leans much closer than she needs to.

“You’re quite the gentleman, aren’t you, Captain?” she asks, fluttering her eyelashes.

Willy lets out a sound like a bird’s squawk. “You two! That’s way closer than you need to be for a dance!”

Yup. She most definitely is on the same page as him. 

Eren leans in close and lowers his voice so that Willy won’t be able to easily make out what he says. “Thanks for going along with this.”

“Not a problem. You’re the only one that can make him behave like that,” Emma tells him.

“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment.”

Emma giggles instead of telling him which one it is.

Honestly, both of them are so much trouble…

“Okay, okay! You’ve made your point!” Willy shouts at them both. “You can dance without stepping on people’s foot!”

“Am I good to go for tomorrow?” Eren asks, grinning.

Willy nods sullenly. “I can’t leave the tarts, so if you want anymore, eat them now.”

 

*

 

Mariele, Marcel thinks, looks like she needs to sit down somewhere and rest for five days at least. There are dark bags under her eyes, and she stumbles slightly whenever she walks. She looks like the slightest bit of wind will knocker her down and will take her at least an hour to struggle back to her feet. It’s no wonder that she never volunteered to be part of the Eldian Voluntary Army. She wouldn’t have lasted an hour.

“Okay. So we saw her. Now what?” Porco asks, looking like he doesn’t want to be here.

“I just wanted to confirm what Ria said. Actually meeting her isn’t necessary,” Marcel decides. 

Besides, she looks really tired and not really in the mood to talk to anyone. He wonders if she had the chance to mourn the loss of her old comrades. 

“Since we’re here, let’s go ahead and get some flowers for the Captain!”

Porco gives him a look. “And you give me shit about liking the Captain.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Marcel says innocently.

But Porco’s glare tells him all he needs to know. Before his brother starts kicking him, Marcel quickly rushes over to where the cart is parked.

“Miss! Miss! I want to buy a flower for the injured Captain in the hospital. What would you recommend?”

Mariele smiles. But instead of thinking that she is beautiful or young, all Marcel wants is to help her to a bench and let her seat to rest. Is she going to be okay? Can she make it to the end of this week, let alone tonight?

“Another one for Captain Kruger?” she asks with a light giggle.

“Did the others stop by?”

“Everyone wants to get something for the Captain. It’s rare for a Marleyan to care enough about us Eldians to send dog tags home.”

That’s true. Even if it was done in a roundabout way so that no one would be wiser, the rumors have already spread that Kruger ordered the dog tags to come home. 

“But it was just the two tags,” Porco complains as he comes to join them. “Is that really something to celebrate over?”

Mariele giggles. “But that’s two more than what we had before. It used to be that we received a list of names of those assumed dead or missing. But this man went through the battlefield and the corpses to get us these tags.”

It probably will be bad form to inform her that they did that, right? Well, not Rott’s. But the Warriors found Wolf’s dog tag. Then again, they were under orders by Magath, who insisted that this was for Kruger. So in a roundabout way, it was Kruger’s decision to get those tags back.

“So which flowers have you been recommending people?” Marcel asks to change the topic.

“Some people liked carnations since those could mean admiration and good fortune. Daisies are nice because they’re always so vibrant in color… But usually, people just go for the brightest colors to brighten up the dreary hospital room.”

Marcel doesn’t recall seeing any flowers like that in Kruger’s room. It was a pretty standard hospital room with little to no decorations, probably as a caution for any assassination attempts. He wonders if those well-wishes of the people in Liberio reached the Captain or if someone else dumped those before Kruger ever noticed them.

That seems sad, too.

“Then please give us your brightest flowers!”

 

*

 

Magath sure is a slave driver. 

He stopped by once Willy left with a stack of paperwork for Eren to go through. Apparently, this is supposed to stop him from doing something stupid like attempting to seduce the nurses. Eren made sure to smugly let him know that he is a master at dancing now, thank you. No seduction that might lead to his bachelor life plan being ruined necessary.

Even though the tarts that Willy brought today wasn’t all that sweet, Eren finds himself longing for those over the bland hospital food.

“Maybe I’ll just discharge myself. I don’t actually need to be here,” he mumbles to fill the silence of the room. “The fracture’s pretty much all healed. And all that’s left is this damned broken arm… God, for how long is this going to remain broken?”

A knocking sound draws his attention away from his complaints. If it was a nurse, they would have knocked, waited a moment, and then entered. But no one is in his room now. And now that he thinks about it, the sound had a more glassy kind of…

He glances at the window and sees Marcel’s grinning face. A little behind him, Porco seems to be doing his best to hold his brother from falling off of the tree branch. These two have no fear of being caught by Marleys, huh?

Good thing he already healed his rib fracture. Else this might have hurt.

Eren gets out of his bed and opens the window.

“What are you two doing?”

Should he pull them in before they’re found? But what if they get stuck inside? That will cause even bigger headache, wouldn’t it? 

“Captain! We got you flowers!” Marcel says proudly.

Which is probably something that’s sweet. But… why? And why now? 

“The nurses said that visiting hours are over, but if we wait until tomorrow, the flowers won’t look as this vibrant.”

This kid needs a better outlet for his creativity. 

“I specifically said no flowers or anything that can be used to hide poison or other annoyances,” Eren tells both boys. “Go home.”

He will not fall for their puppy dog eyes. He will not feel guilty. He will not-

“But since you already have those… Give me a bit.”

It won’t do to go around in his hospital gown. It’ll be too obvious for people to tell that he needs to return to the hospital. With that in mind, he quickly changes into his military uniform in the closet. Then he turns back to the window where the two brats are waiting.

He motions for Marcel and Porco to back away from the window. They both must have realized what he’s going to do because they quickly move to obey. The distance from the window to the branch isn’t too far. But the problem isn’t making it to the branch. Rather, it’s a question of whether that branch will be able to hold his weight.

“W-w-wait, Cap-”

Too late for thinking now.

Eren jumps from the window to the branch and is quite impressed with the branch for being able to handle his weight. Good. He should be able to return like this, too.

“W-wouldn’t people be alarmed if you disappear?” Porco asks.

“We’ll make it fast.”

 

*

 

There are idiots like Marcel and then there are idiots like Kruger. Porco is certain that there are no other idiots than those two categories.

“Why… are we at the headquarters?” he wonders aloud as Kruger sits on the lawn with the wild cats.

Marcel, that idiot, agreed to grab the dried anchovies from Kruger’s office and willingly left, leaving just Porco with the flowers and bunch of cats and their stupid Captain. The cats don’t seem to mind him too much, coming close enough to sniff him but refusing to touch him just yet. He gets the feeling that if he has dried anchovies in his hands, these cats will be all over him just like they’re with Kruger.

Perhaps there’s actually three categories with these cats as the third? No, no. These cats are most definitely more self-serving than they are stupid.

“Hm? I figured it’d serve as a good pit stop.”

So this isn’t the final location that Kruger was planning on going? Porco isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or not. He hasn’t quite decided if any of this is good, to be honest. First of all, there’s the fact that they’ve, in a sense, kidnapped the War Hero from the hospital. And then there’s the fact that Kruger is just playing with these cats like nothing is wrong at the headquarters where any soldiers can walk by and spot them.

“Where are you planning to go, anyways?” Porco asks.

“The cemetery.”

Too bad Pieck isn’t here to squeal about ghosts. 

“Why there?” he can’t help but to ask.

“Curiosity.”

He has no intention of answering, huh? Then he should have stayed silent instead of giving such half-hearted answers. Porco feels peeved now that his own curiosity has been aroused. But no matter what he asks, Kruger doesn’t say more on the topic. Instead… 

“Hey, you should live a long and happy life.”

Kruger’s attention is on a cat in his lap as he gently scratches it behind its ears. But Porco can’t help but to think that Kruger isn’t talking to the cat.

“Even if it means that you are the only one left at the end of it all. Live with the intention of being happy. Live for the sake of their happiness, too. With the belief that as long as you’re happy, they’ll be, too.”

“I won’t be alone at the end of it all,” Porco protests with a scowl. He wills the Captain to look away from the cat and at him. “Colt and I will be alive. And… we’ll have you, Captain.”

Kruger glances up, a wry smile on his face and… His eyes focuses on something that’s behind Porco. From the way his brows furrow, it can’t be Marcel. Then who…?

Porco turns and sees the clearly adult figure watching them. Realizing that they’ve been caught, the figure turns to run. Porco imagines the reason the figure stumbled was because of Marcel. But unfortunately, Marcel doesn’t seem to have realized that something is wrong, because the figure straightens and bolts in the other direction.

“Don’t give chase,” Kruger tells Porco before he can run after that figure. 

“But Captain!”

Kruger shakes his head firmly. “If it’s the assassin, we’re at too big of a disadvantage. I’m injured. You can’t heal, and Marcel has to feed the cats.”

“What’s going on?” Marcel asks as he comes to join them with a questioning look. 

At the sight and sound of their snack bag, the cats gather around Marcel, meowing insistently. Their conversation about the curious figure in the dark will have to be delayed for another time.

“Porco, if you want to touch the cats, you should grab some dried anchovies,” Kruger advises.

“I-I don’t… F-fine! But only because you insisted!”

 

*

 

“So what happened? Why did Mr.  Johannes run?” Marcel asks, motioning towards where the figure ran off in.

“Mr. Johannes?” Eren echoes. 

That was someone that the Warriors know? Does that mean that figure is someone innocent? Or that these kids have been giving away secrets without meaning to? It would explain why the assassin seems to know where to show up to attack Eren, if the assassin had a way in to the headquarters.

“The Eldian janitor.”

Porco makes a disbelieving sound. “Didn’t Pieck say that he was a ghost? They don’t hire Eldians here, and he hasn’t been seen since we had that conversation about ghosts.”

A janitor that doesn’t exist, huh? Eren feels a headache developing. It looks like it was the assassin. These kids must have trusted that assassin implicitly just because of the Eldian armband. Damn. Whoever this “Johannes” is, he’s pretty clever.

“You don’t really think he’s a ghost, do you?” Marcel teases his brother.

Should Eren inform them of the truth? It’ll be better if he doesn’t, right? Else they’ll just end up feeling guilty about the whole thing.

“I heard that if you haven’t seen a ghost by the time you’re 18, you won’t see them for the rest of your life. Rejoice, Porco and Marcel. You two will most definitely be haunted until you die.”

Both Porco and Marcel stare blankly at Eren. Huh? Was that not funny? Why aren’t they laughing?

“… Did you just curse us?”

Huh? No! That’s not it at all! Laugh, damn it! It was a joke! Can’t they get a hint?

“Kruger…? What are you doing here and…” 

It seems that their Commander was pulling a late-night at the headquarters. Damn. Eren should’ve checked that first. 

Magath trails off as his eyes slowly take in the scene of the cats, the Galliard brothers, and the open cat snack bag. His lips pull into a scowl as he turns back to Eren, his eyes shining in fury. 

This, Eren thinks, is really bad.

“Return these kids to their parents now!”

 

*

 

Under Magath’s watchful eyes, the two Warriors are escorted back to the internment zone by Kruger.

Porco figured they’d be in trouble for disappearing for so long. So he braces himself for a lecture (especially since his mom and Marcel have been fighting for so long) while the Public Security Authorities go to bring their family to the gates of the internment zone.

He doesn’t expect for his mom to grab both of them in her arms and burst into tears. Without care of the Marleyan soldiers watching, she cries and cries while their dad thanks the soldiers for returning them safely. It makes it nearly impossible to defend themselves when placed in such a position.

“I’m sorry,” Kruger says, surprising everyone there. 

He doesn’t look away from the Galliards. With a solemn expression on his face, he sincerely conveys his apologies, taking responsibility for what he has done as a leader should. 

And that’s right.

Because Kruger is always such a child with his love for sweets and devil-may-care attitude, Porco keeps forgetting that he is a veteran soldier from the frontlines who has lost his men before. He must have dealt with grieving families just like this. With sincerity that makes even Porco’s heart resonate.

“C-Captain, there’s no need for you to apologize to bunch of Eldians!” the Public Security Authorities standing as the guard for the night tells Kruger in shock. 

But Kruger shakes his head firmly. “If, as their commanding officer, I cannot do something as simple as taking responsibility, then why should they die for me?”

Magath’s eyes seem soft as he puts his hand on Kruger’s shoulder. 

“We’ll be taking our leave then,” the Commander tells everyone. Then he walks off, Kruger falling into step behind him.

 

*

 

Kruger’s words echo in Marcel’s head when they finally head back home. 

“Mom, that’s Captain Kruger. I want to follow him, even if it’s to my death,” he says.

He doesn’t feel angry anymore. The smoldering feeling that’s been building in his chest seems to have finally calmed. Was it the short time they spent, petting cats? Kruger’s words about responsibility? Or maybe it’s just the confounding existence of the War Hero, who seems to constantly turn Marcel around and around, refusing to be pinned by any logical sense.

“I know you don’t approve. But if it’s for a man like him, I feel that I’ll have no regrets,” he continues. “Mom, I’m going to follow that man.”

There’s a tense pause before his mom sighs heavily. She looks like she might collapse, and Marcel wishes he wasn’t forcing her to think about this. But he has less than 13 years left in his life as it is. He doesn’t want this to become a constant source of spite in his family. He wants them to settle this now so that they can focus on the short time he does have left.

“He’s the man who brought home the dog tags, wasn’t he? If Captain Kruger is truly like that always, then yes, he is respectable enough to warrant that reaction. But Marcel, you’re my baby. No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my baby. You and Porco both. I can’t stand the thought of losing either of you.”

Marcel knows. That’s why he went out of his way to make sure that Porco wouldn’t be chosen. So that at least one of them will survive.

“But this is something I have no choice over, isn’t it?” his mom asks.

“I’m sorry.”

She sighs, but he gets the feeling that they won’t be fighting about this anymore.

“Oh, since we still have these flowers, do you want them, mom?” Marcel asks lightly.

His mom looks tired but amused, all the same. “Why do you have flowers?”

Should he tell her about visiting Captain Kruger? Well, she probably already figured it out.

“Captain Kruger wanted to visit the cemetery,” Porco says, surprising everyone. “He didn’t say anything more than that, but… I think we can guess the rest.”

“He’s really bad at the whole ‘hating Eldians’ thing, huh?”

 

*

 

“C-Commander? This isn’t t-the way to the hospital,” Kruger stammers, looking around at the bar in mild confusion and dread.

Good. It seems that Kruger isn’t completely clueless as to why they’re here.

“Why, Kruger, we’re currently off the clock. So why don’t we share a drink and talk about the reason why you were with those kids as well as why you aren’t in your hospital bed.”

Is it too obvious? His growing anxiety in his chest that the same tragedy from the arson ten years ago might repeat. It is bad enough that Kruger seemingly ran off from the hospital. But why were the Galliards involved? They should have been in the internment zone with the rest of their family. The tragedy of ten years ago is something Theo will forever hold in his heart as something that might have been prevented if he reached out.

If he had said something… If he had taken action after noticing those strange events… 

“We were feeding the cats,” Kruger dares to say.

“That’s not what I mean. And you know it.”

There’s a small pause before Kruger sighs. He leans in far too close and whispers his answer in a low voice.

“I wanted to pay respects to Wolf and Rott.”

Then Kruger pulls away, refusing to meet Theo’s eyes. A War Hero that “hates” Eldians, huh? How the hell is anyone supposes to believe those lies when Kruger goes out of his way to…

Theo rubs his temples. 

At the very least, it isn’t a repeat of what happened ten years ago.

And now that he thinks about it, Kruger isn’t similar to Earldart in any way. He’s far more interested in sweets than he is in people, let alone children. The only reason he’ll ever approach a child is to ask about the sweets the child has. Which, admittedly is creepy on its own, but it’s not Earldart level. That’s right. Theo is the odd one for being so suspicious. In fact, didn’t Kruger say something about wanting to die a bachelor?

“You’re nothing but trouble, Kruger,” Theo says lightly. Then to the bartender, he yells out his order for the two of them to drink.

 

*

 

“I didn’t realize you were a lightweight, Commander,” Eren sniggers as he helps balance a drunk Magath.

“Not light,” Magath slurs. He tries to glare at Eren but can’t seem to quite get the expression right. “You… monster.”

Eren laughs. “Indeed I am.”

After all, he “healed” himself after every drink so it should’ve appeared like he didn’t even get tipsy. It completely terrified the other bar patrons, who dared to challenge the “War Hero” to a drinking competition. Hehe. Let this be the beginning of a new legend of Unsinkable Kruger! 

Magath’s address that Eren got from his identification card in his wallet leads him to a surprisingly modest apartment complex. And after a brief search through the Commander’s pockets, Eren got the key needed to get them inside. He leaves Magath to rest on the couch while he rummages through the kitchen.

Although Eren’s place is empty like no one lives there, Magath’s place is tidy in a messy kind of way. Tidy mess, if you will. There’s enough of a mess to seem like someone lives here, but they’re all kept in tidy piles as if Magath believes that you can just stack your mess away. Eren wouldn’t be shocked if he just doesn’t have the time or the energy to properly clean, so he just pushes them to the side like this.

“Here,” Eren says. He returns from the kitchen with a glass of water for the Commander. “You’ll have a hangover in the morning.”

_ “Don’t be silly. I’m the Attack Titan. I’ll just heal all of that away.” _

_ “If you can heal that, just heal your drunkness away! It’s damned annoying!” _

_ “Eren, you wound me so. How can you be so cold to your dad?” _

_ “You’re not my dad!” _

At the very least, Magath is a better patient than the previous Kruger was. He accepts the glass of water and drinks without any further prompt.

“If you’re feeling better, I’ll be heading out. Rest up for the festival tomorrow, Commander.”

It’s possible that Magath said something in affirmative. But it’s more likely that he didn’t hear Eren’s voice. Either way, Eren figures it doesn’t matter. 

He locks the door with Magath’s key and then wedges the key between the door and the door frame the best he can. It’s not perfect, and Eren’s sure he’ll get a tongue lashing for this. But at least when Magath opens the door, he’ll find the key when it falls.

With that finished, he turns his attention to a more pressing matter.

That Johannes had free rein through the Warriors Headquarters by disguising himself as a janitor. Doubtlessly, he stole quite a lot of information. But that doesn’t begin to cover what else that man might have done with access to that place. Did he plant bombs? Did he hide gasoline that can be poured on everything to set the place on fire again? 

The sun is starting to come up, but it’s not like Eren planned on going to the festival anyways. As long as he makes sure to be ready for the ball, everything should be fine.

Completely forgetting that he should really return to the hospital before the scary nurses panic, Eren goes to the headquarters to search for any sign of mishap.

 

*

 

Whew. That was rather close.

“Johannes” tosses the rest of the janitor outfit into the barrel and sets it on fire. The stink of burning clothes fill the air, but what can he do? He doesn’t know how sharp Kruger is, but a man who is able to return from the frontlines again and again must have some kind of a brain. It’ll be far safer to not risk using this disguise again.

What a shame.

He was starting to get attached to the cute Warriors, too. 

What disguise should he use next time? “Johannes” was nice because he just hid his features by lowering his cap and keeping to himself. But he supposes he won’t be able to do this easy of a disguise again any time soon. Wearing that wrinkly mask was pretty fun when he pretended to be “Owen Lawrenson.” Should he pretend to be old again? Or is that too soon? Should he try being a woman instead?

At the very least, he won’t have to be in that godawful building anymore.

He doesn’t know why the Warriors Division was suddenly started up again. But the fact that a random soldier from the frontlines was suddenly hailed as a “War Hero” and brought to Liberio is highly suspect. No matter how you turn it, this Kruger is most definitely at the center of whatever bullshit the Marleys are trying again.

“You won’t do as you want this time. I won’t let you.”

The fire slowly dies down as the sun begins to rise. 

_ “My head is right here. Come and claim it,” _ that haughty War Hero had said.

“Johannes” has every plan to do just that. He will tear off that “hero” mask and show the world that Kruger is just that. A pathetic Marleyan who requires Eldians to protect him. Then he’ll free the current Warriors from the tragic fate awaiting them. 

If anything, he should be the one hailed as a hero!

He better take a shower before work today, though. The smell of smoke and fire is hard enough to get out. He built this reputation very carefully for the last ten years. The last thing he needs is for that to get ruined due to a silly mistake on his part.

Wearing the shy smile of a meek intern, Rosen Hartwin reports for work at the Jaeger Clinic after a thorough shower.


	10. The Disappearance of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I have not forgotten this fic. ^^''' It's just taking me some time... Haha.... >_> I'm sorry.
> 
> Warning: There’s a lot of outsider’s POV as well as OC POVs in this one. I was trying really hard to avoid those, but this happened instead. I’m sorry.

Kruger is a monster.

That’s what Theo decides as he nurses his hangover in the morning. He thought for sure that he’d stop after two drinks or so. Possibly tease Kruger for liking sweet drinks like some kind of a kid (This, of course, is his assumption based on what he knows about the Captain). He didn’t think he’d get roped into a drinking competition against Kruger and couple other bar regulars who got excited at the sight of the War Hero.

With a light laugh, Kruger warned them that he’s a heavy-weight.

Instead of saying that, Kruger should have just said that he cannot get drunk. No matter how much they drank, Kruger matched their pace without getting tipsy. Near the end, though, Theo is pretty sure that Kruger must have felt the impact, because his words started to slur and he stumbled a bit when he walked (or did Theo just feel that way because he himself was so intoxicated?). But otherwise, Kruger showed no sign that he’s been drinking.

It would be impressive if Theo’s head isn’t throbbing.

No, no. 

It’s not that his head is throbbing.

It’s that someone is knocking on the door to his apartment while yelling for him in clear panic.

What the hell did Kruger do?

Theo grudgingly opens the door and stares blankly as a key falls to the ground. A key…? Is that the key to his home? Did Kruger just leave it on the door? Is that man an idiot? Why would anyone think that that’s a safe thing to do? Why wouldn’t he just keep it and return it to Theo the next day? Theo has spare keys he could’ve used to lock the door!

“Commander!”

Right. The problem.

Theo slowly turns to glare at the Public Security Authorities members standing at his door. With terrified looks on their faces, they rush to explain themselves.

“C-C-Captain Kruger is missing!”

“Missing?” Theo echoes dumbfounded. 

“His hospital gown was on the hospital bed, and the window was left wide open. We have reports that he was at a bar with you last night after he dropped off two Warriors at the internment zone. And you’re clearly home and alright. But the Captain is nowhere to be seen!”

This is most definitely bad. And Theo feels like he would be a lot more invested if his head wasn’t hurting so much. But he supposes that’s not a good enough excuse to go back to bed.

“Okay,” he says, taking a deep breath. “So no one knows what happened after he brought me home?”

They nod. “We were hoping that you could provide us some insight. He didn’t stay the night with you or anything?”

Theo doesn’t appreciate the quiet implication tucked away in that question. But since his head is hurting, he opts to ignore it.

“He did not. I vaguely recall him getting me a glass of water… So he’s not at home?”

“Not at home,” they repeat.

“What about the headquarters?” 

Theo wouldn’t be shocked to hear that that idiot went back there instead of home. Probably wanted to feed the cats again or whatever else nonsense that goes through that man’s head.

“He wasn’t there when we checked this morning.”

Damn it, Kruger. What the hell are you doing?

And as soon as that thought enters his mind, all he can think about is what Milly said. If there’s a crime then check around for Kruger, was it? You know, you’re supposed to understand a person’s heart after drinking together. But it’s hard to understand someone who doesn’t get drunk like the rest of the group. Theo wonders if it was too hopeful of him to think that he would be able to understand Kruger better after drinking together.

“Was there any crime reported last night?”

The Public Security Authorities members shake their heads. “None that were reported. It’s been pretty quiet thanks to the festival.”

Theo really hopes that that’s the case and not that Kruger is good at hiding his victims. 

“Get me a map with all the sweets shop and bakeries marked.”

“S-sir?” they ask, looking confused.

Sorry Kruger. It looks like your love for sweets can’t be kept a secret any longer. 

“What I’m about to tell you is top secret. If I find out that you guys told someone, you’ll be hearing from Kruger’s squad. The thing is…”

 

*

 

When Commander Magath arrives at the headquarter, he’s late by an hour. There is a deep set scowl on his face, and he looks just a second away from exploding. The Warriors all tense at the sight. It’s probably for everyone’s benefit, they decide, to give the Commander some space.

“Change of plans,” he tells them with a snarl. “We’re going to find Kruger.”

He pulls out a map with various sweet shops and bakeries all marked. Even without saying anything more than that, they all understand what they’ll have to do.

“Did Captain Kruger… disappear?” Colt asks slowly.

Magath nods sourly. “Unfortunately. He’s not at home. He’s not here. He’s not in the hospital. We’ve went through any crimes in the area without any luck. That leaves just the sweet shops. We’re going to split up and search.”

“What about the security for the festival?” Annie asks.

“It’ll have to wait until we get Kruger back. If it turns out the assassin got to him already, then it makes the security moot.” Magath takes a deep breath. “If you find him, report it immediately. Don’t talk to him until you’ve done that.”

Colt wonders why Magath is giving both Galliards that look when he says the last bit. Did they do something in the short while Colt didn’t see them?

“If you understand, split up into groups to search.”

 

*

 

“What?! Disappeared?”

Emma sips her morning tea over the sound of her brother’s shout. What a wonderful way to start her day. And in case you couldn’t tell, that was sarcasm.

After few more minutes of talking, Willy comes to the kitchen. There’s a fake smile on his face that looks even faker than usual. Emma sips her tea to drown her need to laugh.

“It seems my darling Captain decided to go on a trip and forgot to tell anyone.”

“Are you going to chase after him?” Emma asks as she struggles to keep herself from cackling like a madman.

He shoots her an accusing look. “Don’t be silly. I can’t be seen looking for the Captain. The best I can do is send my guards and hope that someone spot him to drag him to the ball. Jeesh, that man has absolutely no self-awareness at all! Where the hell does he think he’s going, leaving the hospital randomly like that!”

“I guess this is his way of telling you that he doesn’t like to dance,” Emma says lightly.

Willy doesn’t seem too bothered by that, to her surprise. In fact, he’s much more enraged about the ball.

“It’s fine if he doesn’t want to dance. But he knew about this ball for ages now. Just what the hell is so important to him that he’ll just leave on the day of an important…”

Emma has not seen Willy make that expression in ages. The last time had to be when they were small kids and she poured his juice on to the pavement in front of him for… She doesn’t even remember why she did that (It was most definitely not because of petty sibling rivalry. She doesn’t do petty). But she recalls the cold anger in his eyes that promised a painful revenge.

“Willy?” she asks slowly, wondering if she should leave the kitchen before she ends up in the line of fire.

“That bastard… He left to eat sweets from the festival, didn’t he?! Doesn’t he realize that there’s an assassin after his life? Why does he have to be so damned carefree?”

Willy runs back out, yelling for his personal guards. From what little she can make out, it seems that he wants all the bakeries and sweet shops checked. 

“Don’t get caught by dad,” Emma calls after him.

She has no idea if he heard. But she hopes that he knows enough to not enrage their sick dad any more. Small balls and festivals are something that their dad doesn’t care about. But aggressively chasing after a War Hero and purposefully going after the Marleyan government and military are both steps too far. Emma has done her best to play mediator, but there’s only so much that she can do to hide what Willy is doing from their dad.

This plan of Willy’s better turn out to be worthwhile. 

 

*

 

That damned War Hero is most definitely smarter than Rosen gave him credit for. 

Damn it. Damn it.

To think he’d be humiliated like this…

“That’s quite a lot phone calls you’re getting this morning,” Dr. Jaeger remarks with an amused smile.

“The others wanted to know if I'm going to the festival,” Rosen lies smoothly.

Dr. Jaeger looks shocked but also pleased. “Yes, getting out for a bit for a festival will be great for you! Why don’t you take the day off, Rosen?”

“I thought doctors don’t take days off?” Rosen reminds him.

But the good doctor just ruffles his hair and ushers him out the door.

“You’re not a doctor yet, Rosen. Be a good kid and go have fun.”

It’s not what he expected, but this is actually all kinds of perfect. He makes sure to thank Dr. Jaeger and his wife before rushing out, taking care to look like an anxious intern all the while.

According to the calls he’s been getting from the recent assassin he hired, Kruger disappeared from the hospital. Rosen’s guess is that the War Hero didn’t return there after his short walk out to the headquarters. The problem is where did that man go afterwards? The assassin has been keeping tabs of Public Security Authorities, and reported that those guys haven’t found Kruger either.

Not in the hospital. Not at home. Not at the headquarters. Those were the three locations the assassin had reported.

Then that just leaves the festival today.

Damn Kruger. Did he realize that Rosen would send an assassin after him? So he decided to hide himself in the festival crowd?

First thing first, though. The image of Rosen Hartwin is that of a meek intern who cannot leave the internment zone. If he wants to join the search for Kruger, then he needs a disguise.

Damn that hero for putting him through this humiliation and setback. Why can’t he just let Rosen’s assassin kill him?

 

*

 

Eren is having quite a productive morning.

He spent from sunrise until his stomach started growling in the Warriors Headquarters, searching for any sign of foul play. From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be any immediate sign of danger. He might have to give this place another look-over periodically, though. He doesn’t trust that janitor in the slightest. Not to mention he found some suspicious looking documents in the basement that he wants another look through.

But since his stomach was growling, he decided to take a bit of a break by going to a nearby bakery. 

From his house to the Warrior Headquarters, there are two bakeries and three sweet shops. He hasn’t had the courage to enter the sweet shops. That, he’ll wait until his squad members arrive to make them run errands there for him. But he has gotten to know the bakers of both bakeries due to his constant stops in the mornings. 

But it seems that there’s yet another bakery near the Warriors Headquarters that he hasn’t been to before. It’s near the river, which makes it the perfect place to buy something to eat and laze around. So of course, Eren took full advantage of it. And thanks to the festival, the bakery had a few special treats and discounts, too. 

Everything was fine and great. This morning was shaping up the rest of the day to be a wonderful one.

If not for one thing.

“C-come on…” Eren says, trying to coax the wild dog that has stolen his bag of pastries. “Give that back.”

The dog wags its tail, looking far too excited about being chased. More so than the sweets inside of the bag, it seems to enjoy leading Eren around on a pointless chase down the river. Eren can’t remember exactly how far they’ve gotten, but it must have been far, because he no longer sees any sign of people. 

“You’ll get sick if you eat that. So be a good dog and give it back.”

The dog lowers its front side, sticking its butt high in the air. Then…

It bolts.

Eren’s breakfast is quite literally running away from him before he can properly partake in it. He hasn’t felt the need to cry in frustration since his Warrior Training days. It’s almost as if coming to Liberio is forcing him to relive all of his past traumas.

Thank god he left the uniform jacket in the headquarters. The rest of his clothes are grass-stained and disgusting from sweat and mud. This dog is really giving him quite a workout to eat. And since he’s not as easily noticeable without his complete uniform on, no one should realize that the man making a fool of himself by the riverside is actually the War Hero.

“If my arm wasn’t broken, you’d already be caught,” Eren grumbles.

Then he runs after the dog, cursing his arm for his legs not being able to keep up.

 

*

 

Pieck wonders if it’s perhaps not very fair to the other groups for her and Marcel to team up. After all, they’re the smartest and most observant of the Warriors. There’s no doubt that the two of them will be able to find Captain Kruger the fastest.

“Marcel, we were told to look in the bakery,” she reminds him.

If, that is, Marcel will leave the headquarters long enough for them to search for the War Hero.

“Wait. There’s something that’s bothering me…”

Pieck sighs and glances disinterestedly around the basement of the headquarters. Marcel has always been someone she considered her equal. Someone smart and collected, not at all like normal “boys” their age like Porco or Reiner or Bertolt. But it seems that maybe she overestimated him after all. He’s just…

Her eyes catch sight of a familiar medal glinting against her flashlight. 

Isn’t that…?

A startled shout leaves her mouth before she rushes over to the medal. And yup. It is. It’s the medal of honor Kruger received on his uniform. In other words, Kruger’s uniform jacket.

Marcel glances at her curiously before she holds up the jacket. Without exchanging any words, they both arrived on the same conclusion. It turns out that she was too quick in her judgement. Marcel is most definitely not just any boy. He’s someone who stands as her equal.

“For you to suspect this… there’s more that you’re not saying, isn’t there?” she guesses with an accusing smile. “To keep information about Captain Kruger away from me… That’s some nerve, Marcel.”

Marcel smiles back, but it’s cold. Just like her’s. Hah! This is why they’re the best of the best, after all.

“It’s something that happened last night, so I haven’t had the time to tell you. Porco and I snuck Captain Kruger out of the hospital.”

“Past the nurses?!” Pieck can’t help but to exclaim.

Marcel grins smugly. “Piece of cake. Well, anyways. The Captain wanted to stop by here to feed the cats. And while we were here, we ran into Johannes the janitor.”

“The ghost?”

There’s a sharp look in Marcel’s eyes. And that’s all Pieck needs to figure out the rest.

Someone with a presence of a ghost who hangs out in the Warrior Headquarters? Someone who, when other people appear (when Kruger is nearby) disappears suddenly without a trace? An Eldian who claims to be a janitor when there are no Eldian janitors here?

The realization sinks to the bottom of her stomach with dread. 

She was stupid. So stupid and naive. She always brags about being at the top of the class, for being the most observant, for being always so clever. But in the end, she’s the stupid one. She was the weakest link in this case. If she hadn’t been so trusting because she saw the armband and a friendly smile, they would never have…

“The assassin, isn’t he?” she grits out. “And I gave away information to him without a second thought.”

Marcel, to his credit, doesn’t knock her down. He just approaches her to see the jacket. Then he shines his flashlight to the bookshelves around them.

“Theory one. The Captain was looking through these files and ran into Johannes.”

Pieck shakes her head. “Not likely. There’s no sign of a fight.”

“Theory one-b. Johannes had a gun to peacefully ask the Captain to vacate the premises with him.”

This one is a little more believable. But she knows the Captain better than that.

“No way. Captain Kruger would’ve fought. Even if he ended up getting shot at, he’ll fight.”

Marcel nods. “Theory two. He was interrupted by someone else from the staff.”

Pieck mulls over this one for a second. It’s possible. If someone came in and was surprised to see the Captain here, then it’s possible that they were able to coax the Captain to go home. But that leaves out a very important evidence.

“It’s more likely, but then he wouldn’t have left his jacket. The other staff person would’ve made sure our Captain was wearing his badge of honor.”

“Theory three. The Captain got hungry and left to eat.”

Pieck… has nothing to say against that. She rubs her temples. 

“Knowing him, he probably wanted sweets since he couldn’t get any in the hospital,” Marcel adds drily.

“And so we’re back where we started,” she groans.

Marcel laughs easily like this is all a funny joke. Pieck shoots him an exasperated look. But she won’t deny that they found something rather important thanks to this detour.

“We should keep our eyes out for what else Johannes took,” she says lightly.

She thought that Marcel would agree and that they'd finally go to the bakery to look for the Captain. But Marcel’s eyes are on the files on the bookshelves. He reaches for one and begins to flip through them.

“Aren’t we on a tight schedule?” she reminds him.

“It’s fine. If it turns out that he’s really at a bakery for some sweets, the others will find him soon enough. But I’m curious as to what our Captain was looking at.”

Pieck is of the opinion that they shouldn’t just flip through these files without permission. They’re probably top-secret information that the Marleys are keeping about the Warriors and…

She has one out, flipping through it, before she can justify to herself why this is okay. She’ll just have to let Marcel come up with a good excuse later. But for now, she’s just as curious to see exactly what kind of information the Marleys are keeping on them.

 

*

 

Rosen meets up with the assassin on the bridge, a good distance away from the festival. 

It takes him a second to realize that it’s the assassin. This man is truly great at looking like one of the crowd. He looks like your typical average joe. A friendly face you might pass on the street. A “one of those” kind of faces that make you not think twice about who exactly you just saw.  And if not for the Eldian armband that signals him out, he probably would be able to slip anywhere with his looks alone. 

Rosen is a bit in awe of how easily the assassin slips up next to him without a single hair out of place.

“That Captain Kruger is quite a guy,” the assassin says, leaning against the railing of the bridge with a grin. “How the hell he managed to hide so thoroughly is beyond me. Damn. It’s been ages since I’ve been toyed with like this.”

Despite complaining, the grin on the assassin’s face grows wider. It’s completely out of place with his average looks. Rosen thinks about pointing that out but then decides against it.

“No luck on your end?” Rosen asks instead.

The assassin nods. “But it doesn’t look like anyone else have spotted him either. Where could the Darling Captain be hiding?"

This guy looks like he's having the time of his life. Rosen feels a little sickened by the thought of why, but he has no right to judge. He's the one who hired the assassin, after all.

"Where are the others looking?" Rosen asks.

"Sweet shops."

That catches Rosen off guard. Sweets? Hah! What a thought! The great War Hero of Marley likes sweets like some child? 

The assassin catches Rosen's scoff and chuckles.

"They sure got a child to play the role of…” 

At the sudden pause, Rosen turns to the assassin curiously. "What?"

But it turns out that he didn't have to ask. Following the assassin's line of sight, he sees… 

A dog lets out a loud whimper as it gets swept by the current of the river. It seems unable to keep itself floating well enough, due to the bag it's holding in its mouth. It struggles to keep its head up until it finally slips under.

"That's a shame," the assassin remarks lightly. 

He and Rosen both make no move to jump after the dog. There's no need for it. What would it accomplish? A dog drowning is a rare sight but it is what it is. Worse things have happened, and Rosen has bigger fish to fry.

"You damned mutt!"

That's all they hear before a figure jumps into the river. After few minutes, the figure stands back up with one arm wrapped around the dog and the other arm in… huh? A cast? The bag the dog was holding before is nowhere to be seen. But what catches Rosen's eyes are the drenched dark brown hair and the angriest vibrant green eyes that reminds him of someone he holds dearest to his heart.

And isn't that a laugh?

This person before them is obviously the War Hero that they have all been searching for. How dare he compare a disgusting Marleyan to someone as wonderful and heroic as-

"Well, would you look at that," the assassin chuckles. "Our lucky day, it seems."

With a pistol drawn, the assassin jogs off the bridge to approach the War Hero. Rosen waits a second to collect himself. When he is in complete control, he slowly moves to follow the assassin.

 

*

 

The names and data written in the files are not of them. It's of the previous Warriors and their accomplishments. That explains why these files are hidden down in the basement, collecting dust.

Marcel thinks he might have overestimated their value, because there really isn't much here aside from various test results. Ria is at the top of the majority of the tests. She's closely followed by the names Don, Iris, Rosen, Eren, and Oswald. Lagging at the very bottom of the class with the lowest scores are Sigi and even further behind is  Mariele.

Even back then, it seems the flower seller struggled with life.

"Ah!"

At the exclamation, Marcel glances at Pieck. She has long given up looking at the files and has a tattered photo album in her hands.

"Look at this, Marcel. It says his name is 'Eren Kruger,' too!"

With each of the photos are the names of the people in it. There's a fairly handsome man wearing the uniform of a Public Security Authorities officer. This picture was clearly taken when the man wasn’t looking, as he’s smoking while watching the Warriors in the background. Marcel feels like he recognizes Rosen when he was just a child. But who is this other child that’s laughing with Rosen?

“I don’t think ‘Eren Kruger’ is that popular of a name… Do you think he’s related to our Captain?”

“Let’s take this picture,” Marcel says. 

He wants to show it to Rosen. In fact, he wants to flip through the rest of the album to finally have faces to attach to the names of the previous Warriors.

“Don’t be stupid. It’s an old photo. We’ll get in trouble.”

Marcel holds up his forefinger and presses it to his lips. “I won’t tell if you don’t tell.”

Just as he knew she would, she folds. After all, she’s just as curious about the whole thing as he is. Well, he should probably fill her in on the whole previous Warrior detail, too. She might be able to see something that he hasn’t, even though he doesn’t really believe that.

“Let’s show it to Captain Kruger first! Well, we have to find him first,” Pieck says. Then she levels Marcel a judging look. “Are you ready to leave now?”

“Yup! Let’s go find our Captain!”

 

*

 

Porco grins. They hit the jackpot.

Colt hangs back, looking a little worriedly at him. But Porco is confident in his ability to track people, even though all he ever did was read that one book about hunting once. He’s on the grassy fields by the river on all four, examining the terrain. There’s clearly marks here that fits the description the baker gave them.

“W-what?! That young gentleman was Captain Kruger?! O-oh no… I didn’t even offer him the best bread… Huh? Ah, yeah. He just bought a whole bunch of sweet breads. He looked like he was off to the riverside. I wonder if I should’ve warned him about the mutt down there.”

The markings imprinted in the grass and the mud beneath has clear signs of military-grade boot print. There’s also some dog prints, too. Knowing Kruger, he probably tried to feed that dog sweets, because he’s pretty air-headed like that.

“From my deductions, we just need to follow the river down this stretch,” Porco announces. 

Colt doesn’t look like he believes him, but nods slowly. “I-if you say so.”

Just you watch, Colt. They’re going to be the ones to find Captain Kruger first. Not Marcel and Pieck. Porco will show all of them.

 

*

 

“Are you happy now? Now both of us will go hungry,” Eren scolds the stupid dog, who dares to whimper at him. “I can’t believe you’d just jump into the water… Consider other people’s casts before you do that next time, won’t you?”

At the very least, the dog seems to understand that it’s being lectured. It lowers its head and doesn’t wag its tail. It’s such a picture perfect look of dejection that Eren can’t believe that he actually feels sorry. This stupid dog is much too good of a scammer. 

He runs his hand through his wet hair, sleeking it back so that it’s at least out of his face. “Look, I’m not saying that you suck, but I’m just saying-”

The dog suddenly bolts upright and begins to growl lowly. 

“You’re not even going to listen to my lecture?” Eren complains as he discreetly reaches for his knife in his belt. Knowing his luck, this is going to be-

He continues to scold the dog to pretend that he doesn’t hear the footfalls of the approaching person. A man, he thinks. Possibly of average height and weight. The footfalls are even, so this person isn’t purposefully trying to hide himself to approach Eren. But if it’s a normal person, they would’ve called out by now. The fact that they’re still approaching despite that (and that the dog is clearly unhappy) tells him plenty.

When he feels that the person is close enough, he turns and throws the knife.

Eren registers the shocked expression first. Then he sees that his knife has knocked the pistol out of the man’s hands. Oh. How lucky. He didn’t think his aim would be that good.

“Damn, that’s scary,” the man says with a giant grin.

More so than scared, it looks like this man is gearing up for a fight. 

Eren doesn’t want to be right about that, but he doesn’t seem to have all that good of a luck today. He braces himself just in time for the man to come swinging his fists at him. Vaguely, Eren is aware of the dog barking like mad. He wonders if he should finish this quickly before someone else gets here or if he should play around. Is it better to play the fragile War Hero who needs help? Or is it better to neutralize the threat before anything bad can happen?

It seems this man is a lot more prepared than Eren gave him credit for.

When Eren dodges his fists, the man draws a knife from who knows where and stabs Eren’s stomach. Then he knocks Eren off his feet and pushes him down to the ground, laughing all the while. This is probably what people call overconfidence getting its due deserves.

“I thought you trained soldiers were better than this?” the man taunts.

Eren regrets taking his time.

“Captain!” 

Of all the…

There’s two things he registers when he sees the only two normal kids of the Warriors. The first is that if those two get caught in the cross-fire, they will not be able to heal. The second is that he won’t be able to just kill all the witnesses and do whatever he feels like doing. 

As terrifying as it sounds, he’s going to have to use his brain.

“Don’t come closer! Go get help!” Eren yells at the kids in hopes that they’ll get a hint.

They don’t, of course. But Eren tried. If Magath later accuses him in anger, he at least has this defense.

“Haha! What a farce!” The assassin yanks his knife out of Eren’s stomach and holds it to Eren’s throat. “A Marleyan worried for Eldian children? You almost make me want to respect you.”

“If you respect me, you’ll let me go?”

The assassin sniggers. “Hell no.”

Well, it was worth a try anyways.

Eren moves in the same breath the dog does. The dog bears its fangs, letting it sink deeply into the assassin’s shoulder. That’s not something Eren expected, but he mentally thanks the dog for the help. Because now he has the assassin’s knife to work with. The force of the dog’s sudden attack knocked the assassin back, giving Eren just enough leverage to change their position. 

He ruffles the dog’s head, which prompts it to let go. It excitedly licks Eren’s cheek and tries to get in the way. So Eren pushes it back. Then he turns his focus on the assassin, whose grin seems to have disappeared. Without it, he looks like an average person. Someone who can easily blend in with any crowd. No wonder this person chose this occupation. If he ever walked around without his armband, he would probably be able to easily blend in as a Marleyan.

“Why are you after my life?” Eren asks the assassin.

“Pfft. You have to ask? Hey, why do you Marleyans hate us Eldians? Isn’t it just simply in our blood? You can come up with as much excuse and reasoning, but at the end of the day, that’s all there is. You are wired to hate us. So I’m just evening the playing field.”

Liar, Eren thinks. There’s a glint in those eyes that Eren recognizes from the frontlines. This is someone who delights in killing. It doesn’t matter who or what. With such a flimsy excuse of “it’s in our blood,” he’s going to go on killing as many people as he can.

“For that reason, you targeted me?”

The assassin’s eyes light up. “Oh, you meant you specifically. It’s good money. There’s someone who is willing to pay quite a hefty sum of money for your death, Captain. Aren’t you grateful? You’re hated to such a degree!”

So he doesn’t know either. The person Eren needs to target is the one who is paying that money. But who in their right mind will waste that much money to try and kill someone who can’t die?

The assassin grins again, and Eren realizes too late that he shouldn’t have relaxed.

Damn it.

What is up with him today and putting his guard down?

A loud gunshot rings in his ear as he feels himself falling backwards. Where? Where was he shot? Why is the world spinning? Is he dying? Damn it. That’s bad. That’s really bad. If those kids see that he “died” but then managed to heal himself, then they’ll realize the truth. He needs to hide this. He needs to-

Vaguely, he thinks he can make out the sounds of loud yelling and barking. But he can’t focus. 

Hah. Why is he thinking of Willy’s worried expression at a time like this?

Damn. 

He’s going to get an earful if he misses this ball tonight…

 

*

 

Sometimes, it scares Colt just how quickly Porco moves on instinct.

Marcel moves fast, but it’s never a gut-reaction. There’s always a small pause for thought. Colt often freezes where he stands, unable to process anything. He thinks that Reiner and Bertolt fall in the same category as him, although they’re slowly all getting better. Annie tends to purposefully step back to observe her surrounding. Pieck is usually a second behind Marcel when it comes to thought-to-action process. 

But Porco runs in without any plans or thought. 

He picks up a dropped pistol (and when did Porco even see that? Colt didn’t even notice it in the grass!) and runs the minute they hear the gun go off. And as the Captain falls backwards, red petals of blood falling from his chest, Porco points the pistol and fires at the assassin. 

And again.

And again.

And again.

Until they all hear the clicking sound of the empty pistol.

And while Colt collapses to his knees, trying to understand what the hell just happened, Porco rushes to the Captain’s side, yelling about needing to stop the blood so Colt, stop wasting time and get the fuck over here!

He doesn’t recall moving.

He doesn’t recall stumbling to Porco and the Captain’s side. He doesn’t recall the dog barking nervously at them, seemingly just as anxious as them both. He doesn’t recall taking off his shirt. He doesn’t recall sobbing as he holds his shirt against the wounds. And god, everything is so red. So damned-

“I’m a doctor. Let me help.”

Colt knows Rosen Hartwin. Aside from the Warriors who can heal, he’s pretty sure everyone in the internment zone knows of him. But Colt had been under the impression that Rosen had a strong distaste of leaving the internment zone. The question is at the tip of his tongue, but he pushes it away for now.

For now, saving the Captain’s life comes first.

They can figure out later what Rosen was doing not only outside of the internment zone, but also why he was conveniently standing around this far away from the festivals to witness the whole thing.

 

*

 

“So let me get this straight,” Theo says, struggling to keep his voice as calm as he can at the three Eldians and dog before him. 

The Public Security Authorities members take care of the body of the assassin while marking this area off-limits for any normal people. The medics are going over Hartwin’s work to double check that Kruger is truly alright. After all, you can’t trust an Eldian, especially one who isn’t a real doctor to make sure that their stupid brat of a War Hero doesn’t die.

“You two,” he motions at Porco and Colt, “found Kruger engaged in a battle against the assassin. You guys decided to assist him and successfully took down the said assassin.”

“Y-yes sir,” the two Warriors mumble, strangely unable to do anything but stare at the ground.

Then he motions at Hartwin. “And you just happened to be walking by and offered medical help?”

“I-it was… I was meeting up with the others f-for the f-festival… B-but the crowd was too much. I was resting by the bridge and s-saw…” Hartwin shudders and holds himself.

Suspicious. No matter how Theo turns it in his head, this is suspicious.

Lastly, Theo looks at the dog. “How the hell do you fit into all of this?”

The dog barks unhelpfully.

Kruger better have a good explanation for all of this…

“Commander, the Captain is awake,” one of the medics alerts Theo.

Theo doesn’t feel satisfied from the report he received, but he’ll just have to deal with them later. Right now, his stupid Captain requires his attention.

The medics must have asked Kruger what he remembers, because the Captain is holding his head as he slowly recounts what happened. He’s currently being supported upright, so the wounds he had must not be fatal.

“… I think I was shot? And stabbed.”

“They were both minor wounds. You were lucky,” the medics inform Kruger.

… Minor? But it looked like there was quite a lot of blood. Perhaps that blood is from the assassin? But the assassin’s body looks to have a bunch of bullet wounds, instead of the bloody mess Kruger tends to leave behind. And from how their bodies were positioned, Theo doubts that the blood on Kruger is from the assassin. This is starting to get beyond frustrating.

“Why does my head hurt so much?” Kruger asks.

“You fainted due to exhaustion and hunger. The headache is leftovers from that. Captain, pray tell me why did you leave the hospital?”

“The Commander wanted to get a drink.”

… Why this little…!

Theo ignores the dirty looks the medics shoot him to glare at his Captain.

“And instead of just spending the night with me, you had to leave in a hurry?”

“I wanted to get breakfast,” Kruger insists. 

As they talk, the dog lets out a loud bark and rushes at Kruger. It licks Kruger’s face as the Captain tries to push it away.

“Don’t be friendly. I’m still mad at you,” he grumbles. Then to Theo, he explains, “I bought breakfast and this dog stole it. I was chasing it all morning along this river. The assassin somehow found me and attacked. That’s pretty much what I remember happening. What happened to that assassin anyways?”

“Dead,” the medic says at the same time Theo says, “You expect me to believe that?”

Kruger dares to look shocked at Theo. “I-it’s the truth, Commander! I was chasing this dog… ask the assassin… Wait no. He’s dead… Ask the dog!”

Theo shoots him a look, which immediately shuts Kruger up.

“Anyways, return to the hospital for now. You’ll stay there until it’s time for the ball.”

Kruger clicks his tongue. “I still have to go?”

“Yes, you stupid brat!”

There’s a small pause before Kruger grins widely at Theo. “Ehhhh? Could it be, Commander? Were you worried for me?”

“Of course, I was! Do you know what kind of a pay reduction I’ll receive if the War Hero disappears?”

Kruger laughs and lets himself be helped up by the medics. And if Theo hadn’t been paying attention, he would’ve missed the soft, “Thank you,” Kruger casually throws in the air.

That’s right, you damned brat. You better be thankful.

Theo shakes his head and turns back to the Eldians. Porco and Colt look relieved at the least that Kruger is alright. But… there’s a look on Hartwin’s face that Theo isn’t sure how to describe. It’s not quite the anxious look of shame and nervousness that was on his face when he stuttered to report to Theo. In fact, Theo would argue that the expression looks a little… like horror?

Probably because he felt Theo’s gaze, Hartwin glances over and meets eyes with him. Immediately, Hartwin lowers his gaze, trembling.

Suspicious. 

Every single one of them is so damned suspicious.


	11. The Guard Dogs of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo! We're finally gearing up to the climax of the story. Once the "plot" part is wrapped up, I'm thinking of maybe one or two fluff chapters before wrapping everything up. ^^ Let's see if my guess is anywhere close to what I want.

“Oh, I see you’re back now, Captain,” a nurse greets with a friendly smile. “And that you removed your cast.”

Eren feels himself break out in cold sweat. The greeting is most definitely friendly. The smile is, too. So why does he feel like he’s about to be gunned down? Hell, he didn’t feel this scared facing against the assassin. So why do these nurses put him on edge?

“Sorry for leaving without any word. B-but as for the cast… it got wet. I took it off because it was uncomfortable,” he tries to explain.

“I’m sure,” she says. 

How did she manage to put that much venom in just two words?

“Commander, dogs aren’t allowed in here,” another nurse informs Magath curtly.

Magath pauses before he glances behind him at the dog that seems to have followed them. “This isn’t my dog,” he says.

“Dogs aren’t allowed here,” the nurse repeats.

There a small pause as Magath forces himself to take a deep breath. He shoots Eren a dirty look before pulling the dog out of the hospital. Eren is of the opinion that Magath could’ve just asked Colt and Porco to take care of that. But it seems Magath feels responsible for the dog. He sure likes to adopt things, huh? First that cat and now this dog… 

The three of them (the  Public Security Authorities took Rose back to the internment zone due to how sickly he felt. And what the hell’s up with that anyways? That was Rose? Eren really wishes he had a chance alone with him to talk a little, but he doubts that kind of chance will come as a Marleyan War Hero) follow the nurse back to his room. It feels a little like they’re going out of their way to escort him. Almost like they’re scared that he’ll disappear again.

If they’ll just understand that if he gets his sweets, he won’t do that again, he’d be really happy.

The nurse gives Eren a pointed look before mentioning fresh clothes in the closet. Then she finally takes her leave. 

Eren gives it a few seconds after the door stays shut before he turns to the two Young Warriors, both of whom are staring at the ground. This is something he has been trying to figure out for a while now. Eren lost consciousness during his fight against the assassin. When he woke up, the assassin had multiple bullet wounds from a gun that Eren doesn’t carry. That means he didn’t kill the assassin while half-unconscious.

That brings up the question of who did.

There are three potential killers. 

The first is Rose. As a former Warrior, he has the know-how and the experience to be able to pull the trigger. But he’s also someone who would never bother to save a Marleyan. Eren doubts that side of him has changed, even if he seemed like a nervous wreck when the Public Security Authorities escorted him away. And once again, huh? That was Rose? What the hell happened to him?

The second and third are Porco and Colt. From the way neither of them look up from the ground, it’s clear that they believe they’re in the wrong about something. But what Eren doesn’t know is if they’re feeling like this because he ordered them to leave and they refused or because they’re guilty of something that they did. 

And the best way to figure this out is…

Eren kneels before the two and pulls them both into a hug. His broken arm is on fire from this simple of a movement, but he forces himself to push through it. Now is not the time to think about his own pain. Mentally, he apologizes to them both for how dirty his shirt is. He hopes that he doesn’t smell too much like blood and sweat and grass. 

“Thank you for not abandoning me back there,” he tells them.

When he moves to let go, he feels Porco’s hands grip his arm. Both children have tears in their eyes, lips trembling as they struggle to hold it back. Eren wonders why he always feels like he’s looking at a younger version of himself whenever he sees Porco. Does that make Colt Rose? Probably not, right? 

“It was scary, wasn’t it?” he asks. “Me too. It was terrifying. I’m really thankful that I’m the one alive.”

“I-I killed him,” Porco whispers.

So it was Porco. Eren doesn’t feel too surprised. Porco is too similar to him like that, after all. For the sake of protecting what they believe is right, they’ll both dirty their hands. This child will doubtlessly…

Eren tightens his hold on the children. “If you hadn’t, I’d be dead. And maybe you guys will all be, too. That guy seemed like someone who delights in killing, no matter who. You saved all of us. Porco, what you did was the right thing to do.”

Liar, accuses the angry child called “Eren Jaeger” in his head. 

_ “You don’t have to force yourself to lie for me, Mr. Kruger. I know what I did. I’m not an idiot. Taking people’s lives is never okay, no matter the cause.” _

_ “I disagree. That’s too idealistic a view in this shitty world. Sometimes, there is no choice but to take someone’s life. You killed those people because you wanted to protect your family. Sometimes, that’s the only thing left to do.” _

_ “A lot of innocent people died because I set the headquarters on fire. Are you saying that that’s justified, too?” _

_ “Yes. You did the right thing, Eren.” _

With a shuddering sob, Porco bursts into tears. He clings tightly to Eren as he cries. Colt is just a few seconds behind him. Eren holds both children in his arms, ignoring the pain in his broken one. He doesn’t mind. Especially not if these few seconds will give these children a short respite from the horrors of this shitty world.

 

*

 

Marcel isn't upset that he wasn't the one who found his Captain. Especially not when it's Porco who did. The part that upsets him is the fact that Porco had to fight off an assassin without his brother as a back up. Porco and Colt both have no special powers. Yet they’re the ones who arrived in time to assist the War Hero. If things went even just a little bit wrong, they both could’ve died.

That thought chills Marcel to his bone.

He and the rest of the Warriors are gathered in Kruger’s hospital room. Kruger is taking a shower. According to Porco, it’s a long-needed one. The rest of them are sharing information on what they have been up to, even though it’s clear that they’re all more interested in knowing what went down with the assassin from Porco and Colt.

“There’s not much to talk about,” Porco says with a modest shrug that doesn’t suit him.

Marcel knows his brother well-enough to know that whatever happened, it shook Porco enough to not want to talk about it. He thinks he has a faint idea on what it might be. But he doesn’t want to just blurt it out in case Porco doesn’t want the others to know.

He’s really dying to talk about it, though.

“I thought for sure Marcel and Pieck would find him first,” Bertolt admits.

Pieck pouts. “I thought so, too! But Marcel here was more interested in old data! Oh, but we did find something pretty cool.”

She surprises him by pulling out the photo of the man named “Eren Kruger.” He thought she’d want to hide it for much longer. But it seems she was giddy about sharing their find. She always surprises him in how childish she can be at times. 

“Apparently, his name is Eren Kruger, too! We wanted to show it to the Captain to see if he knew who this was.”

“Show me what?” Kruger asks as he steps out of the shower. 

He doesn’t have a shirt on, just his pants. And Marcel knew that soldiers, especially those from the frontlines, have to be well-toned, but it still catches him off-guard how muscular Kruger really is beneath his uniform. That’s not even talking about the scars and wounds that decorate his chest and arms. With how air-headed and careless Kruger can be, Marcel keeps forgetting that this man is a veteran from the frontline.

Without noticing the stares, Kruger towels his hair dry while taking a step towards Pieck to see the photo.

“T-this is ‘Eren Kruger.’ B-by any chance… d-do you know him?” 

Pieck’s face is beet red as she does everything she can to not meet Kruger’s eyes. Marcel can’t even blame her. He feels like all of his blood has all rushed to his cheeks, too.

There’s a soft look in Kruger’s eyes. He reaches forth but doesn’t quite touch the photo. Instead, his fingers hover just over the man in the photo’s face.

“He’s my dad.”

“Y-your…?”

Kruger mercifully steps away from them, seemingly no longer interested in the photo. He opens the closet and takes out a clean shirt. Just a little, Marcel wants to ask him if he needs some of the wounds bandaged, but he can’t quite get his dry mouth to form words. He has no idea how Pieck is doing it.

“Yeah. Don’t people talk about it? My mom was a bar maid. She named me after who she assumed was my dad. When she died, I came to Liberio to look for him. We didn’t stay here long, though. I probably shamed him.”

“W-wait, that means that there’s a chance that he’s not your dad?” Porco asks, looking surprised.

Kruger grins. “Yup. But the idiot took me in anyways. Isn’t he stupid?”

Somehow, stupid is not the word Marcel would’ve used.

“Disappointed? The War Hero Kruger is just a boring and normal person.”

Disappointed is also not the word Marcel would’ve used. 

Kruger puts the shirt on. He sits on his bed, absentmindedly rubbing his arm. Now that Marcel thinks about it, where is his cast? Should they tell the nurses? His arm is still broken, right? And while the nurses are here, they can also make sure that he has all the bandages and things that he needs, right?

“Captain, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment,” Reiner says.

“By the way, where did you find that photo?” Kruger asks, not even acknowledging Reiner. 

“Oh, these were… erm… f-from the basement,” Pieck stammers.

Marcel gives Kruger his uniform jacket. “We found this while we were there.”

“So you guys decided to just rummage through the files there, huh?”

This only works because it’s Kruger. Marcel grins widely without saying anything more. A beat of silence passes before Kruger lets out a soft sigh.

“Fine,” he mumbles. “Find anything fun while you were flipping through those?”

As Marcel thought. Kruger is much too easy-going to care that they probably looked through some top secret documents. But then again, if those really were top secret, it wouldn’t have been placed in such a filthy location like the basement, collecting dust and spider webs.

“Yeah! Apparently, the previous Warriors…”

 

*

 

Magath eventually comes to take the Warriors away to prepare for the ball security. If Eren hadn’t been so busy stuffing his face with food at the time, he would’ve paid a little more attention to where Magath said he put the dog. But that’s neither here nor there.

He’s sure that if he buys another pastry, that dog will come out of nowhere to steal his food.

“Make sure to show up on time to the ball,” is the only warning Magath gave him before leaving.

Eren thought that meant that the Commander trusted him. But he supposes that’s much too hopeful.

“Who… are you people?” Eren asks.

They’re dressed suspiciously as they pile into Eren’s hospital room. There are two by each windows, two by the door, one in each corner, one by the closet, and two by the bathroom door. From the way they stand and how they quickly fall into this formation without any words, it’s obvious that these people are professionals. 

But why are such professionals doing here? If Magath had sent them (and he doubts that the Commander will waste manpower like that), he would’ve sent soldiers. Not professionals.

“Excuse us, Captain Kruger. We have been tasked with protecting you.”

That doesn’t explain who they are and why they have been sent. But then again, that much is enough for Eren to come to his own conclusion. If they weren’t sent by Magath, obviously, this must be Willy’s doing. That guy probably heard that Eren disappeared from the hospital and set this up to prevent him from running away again. He’d feel touched if he wasn’t so annoyed.

“You know, I had no plans on running away from the ball. But you guys doing this really makes me want to.”

The guards don’t even grace him with their attention. It makes Eren want to be an utter brat to them, just because. 

“Can I trust that you guys will wake me when it’s time to go then?” he asks instead. 

“Of course, Captain.”

So they respond to that, huh?

Eren makes himself comfortable on the bed. Oh well. It’s not like he had any pressing plans before the ball anyways. Might as well as get some sleep.

“Captain, I’m sorry to disturb you when you’ve gotten comfortable, but our employer would like to speak with you.”

They couldn’t have said that before he got comfortable?

“Yeah, sure. Let him in.”

Eren pushes himself to a sitting position and pauses. Because the man that walked into the room is not Willy.

After his first meeting with Willy, Eren did his research on the Tybur family. The current head is a sickly old man (Willy’s father, if Eren’s guess is correct). This is Eren’s theory without any proof, but he suspects that this man holds the War Hammer Titan. Otherwise, Willy wouldn’t have been so sure that he would die within the year.

“You look taken back, Captain. Could it be that you know who I am?” the head of Tybur family asks with a stretch of the lips that might be his way of smiling.

“The head of the Tybur family. Why is an Eldian extending his hand to ‘protect’ me?” 

The old man chuckles, which quickly dissolves into coughs. The previous Kruger was this sickly, too. Eren always blamed it on the alcohol and the cigarettes, but he’s starting to see that it’s just a part of holding a Titan. How depressing. This is going to be his future, huh?

“Oh? You didn’t seem to mind it so much when my son did it. Don’t like it so much from an old man, eh?”

“It has nothing to do with your age. Willy was just… quite insistent.”

The old man stares at Eren for a bit before smirking. “Let me guess. It has to do with why Willy suddenly took up baking sweets?”

Eren pretends that his cheeks aren’t red. 

“Did you come to talk to me about your son’s baking habits?”

“Not quite. But I figured talking to you will be the easiest way to figure out what he’s doing. Now what are you doing for my son that you willingly put aside your pride to become an Eldian’s dog for?”

It’s clear that this man already has an idea on what he thinks the “War Hero Kruger” is like. He doesn’t seem to have any more research than observing Willy. If that’s the case, then Eren might be able to play this to his advantage.

“You know, Willy got me a house by the river. He got me a promotion, a medal, and a comfy new office. Why should I bite the hand that feeds me so generously for nothing in return?”

From the way the man’s face darkens, Eren realizes he’s hit the jackpot. Haha. This is much too easy. Even Willy was harder to trick. 

“I heard from a little bird that you’ve been struggling to get your squad members transferred to Liberio. Give me five names and I’ll bring them over.”

Now we’re talking! 

Eren finds himself grinning before he realizes that five is too much. That’s right. The number of people he wished to move out of danger has dwindled and changed quite a lot since his first deal with Willy.

“Three. I’ll give you three names. And in return, I’ll give you a hint,” Eren says.

The old man raises his brow but agrees. 

After securing Hugo, Yelena, and Onyankopon a place in Liberio, Eren returns the favor for the head of the Tybur family.

“Have you ever seen the eyes of young men going to battle for the first time? They’re filled with hope and naive sense of glory. Ah, I’m talking in general. Not special cases of those who are in it for bloodlust. Your son’s eyes are the same. They’re the same as someone who has yet to see the horror of the world.”

“And to this young and sheltered son of mine, what exactly do you plan on doing, Captain Kruger?”

Jeesh, now this conversation is starting to sound like Eren’s talking to his partner’s parent. He finds himself smiling like a sleaze on purpose. 

“As long as I get my rewards, it’s not my concern.”

The old man makes a show of sighing heavily. “My son sure has found a troublesome man to call his ‘War Hero.’”

“Why thank you.” Eren chuckles.

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

 

*

 

Theo is proud to announce that the ball goes completely uneventfully. He is pretty sure it has to do with the fact that the assassin attacked during the festival, which made sure that the ball itself would be safe. But he’s going to credit the safety to his (and the Warriors’) constant vigilance. 

“You’re surprisingly amiable tonight, Kruger,” he mentions as he comes to stand by the Captain who has just evacuated from the dance floor for a drink.

Kruger glances at him with a lazy smile before going for water. “The nurses gave me some nice meds. I can barely feel any pain, even in my arm. It means I can’t drink, though.”

Theo doubts that any alcohol will affect Kruger. But he doesn’t voice it, in case someone overhears.

“And I see that your dancing got better.”

“Commander, is that your way of asking me to dance?”

Theo rolls his eyes. Brat.

“I’m merely giving compliment where compliment is due.”

Kruger sniggers into his water. “Think I got us a hefty amount of donations tonight?”

“We’ll see, Kruger.”

There’s a beat of pause before Kruger hands his empty glass to a butler walking by.

“Commander, have you seen anyone from the Tybur family today?”

The Tybur family? That family seems quite invested in Kruger’s well-being. It’s something that Magath noticed before, but he just chalked it up to people being attracted to the “War Hero” title. Perhaps there’s more happening here that he hasn’t been privy to?

If so, then will that isolated family be interested in donating to the cause of the Warriors?

“Can’t say that I have.”

Kruger nods. “I see. Well, it looks like I’m expected back on the dance floor. Commander, why don’t you find yourself a nice person while you’re here?”

“Because my hands are full with dealing with a certain brat of a Captain,” Theo answers without missing a beat.

“You sure know how to make a guy blush, Commander!”

“It wasn’t a compliment!”

 

*

 

Three days after the ball, Commander Magath is late to arrive to the headquarters.

That should have been the first sign that something is different. But Reiner didn’t think too much about it. It could be because Captain Kruger decided to stop by a bakery, after all. Once Kruger realized that they had a map of all the bakeries and sweet shops marked, he got starry-eyed and had to be persuaded by multiple people to not just run off. To Reiner's knowledge, Kruger still has that map. But he has no idea if Kruger has already begun his trek to visit all the marked locations.

But then Kruger walks in to the headquarters, looking surprised that Magath isn’t there. They all start wondering (dreading, actually) if they’re going to be on the search to find their missing Commander now.

“That’s unlike him,” Kruger says. 

Then his eyes light up, and even before he says anything, they all know what he’s going to suggest. They’re going to go visit bakeries and sweet shops under the guise of looking for Magath.

“Why don’t we go look-”

“You are not going anywhere, Kruger,” Magath growls as he walks into the room. He gives Kruger a look. “You couldn’t have bothered to tell us that the transfer went through?”

Kruger blinks. “The transfer?”

“That’s cold, Captain. We’re finally here, and you didn't even come greet us,” Onyankopon says with a small smile that contradicts his words.

Yelena and Hugo greets them with a small wave as they walk in, closely behind a smiling Onyankopon. Even though he knows that she won’t be here, Reiner finds himself tensing at the thought of Eike.

“That went through much faster,” Kruger mumbles. Then loudly, he addresses Magath, “Commander, do i have your permission to settle my squad members?”

“Go ahead. But if I heard that you guys slacked off at a bakery or a sweet shop-”

“I won’t do that.” Although Kruger dismissed that so easily, he turns to Hugo and tosses him a small coin pouch. “Go buy a huge variety from the nearest sweet shop. I’m not picky on flavor, but if they have any strange ones or if it’s their specialty, I want to try them.”

Hugo’s face falls. “Captain, you can’t be serious!”

“I’ve done my utmost best to endure it until you guys got here. Unless you want me to go in there myself?” Kruger asks.

It’s clear from Hugo’s expression that he doesn’t like that either. He grits his teeth and forces himself to take a deep breath.

“I’ll be right back!” 

Then he’s off.

“Onyankopon, Yelena, come up with a rotation for the three of you. I want to try every single shop in the area. Luckily, the Warriors have a map we can use.”

Magath has been staring in disbelief at Kruger until that moment. Then he turns his gaze towards the Warriors. They quickly look at the ground, pretending that they have no idea what Kruger is talking about.

“Why are the first words you say to us orders for sweets?” Yelena sighs.

“Captain, this is abuse of power,” Onyankopon adds.

Kruger shakes his head. “Don’t be silly. C’mon, I’ll give you a tour.”

 

*

 

“… I thought you were giving us a tour?” Onyankopon asks, glancing around the basement in wariness.

“I am. What better way to learn about this place than through top secret files?” 

Both Onyankopon and Yelena are giving him a look. They clearly don’t believe him. But Yelena at least has the decency to sigh and come to look through the files with him.

“What are you trying to find?”

“Anything on a man named ‘Xaver.’”

Seeing that the two of them are hard at work, Onyankopon rubs the back of his neck and sighs. He takes a file out of the shelf and begins to flip through them.

“Who even is this ‘Xaver’ anyways?” he asks.

Eren’s fingers pause over the statistics on the previous Warriors. He was most definitely not mocking Rosen for his slow speed, by the way. Don’t be silly. Why would he waste precious time doing something so petty?

“The previous Beast Titan. I… heard from a source that his last work was with the previous Warriors before he disappeared.”

Yelena glances up from her files. “Have you been tasked with finding him?”

“Not quite find him. Just curious about him,” Eren decides to say.

They seem to accept that even though it’s so vague. He mentally apologizes to them and hope that they don’t ask more.

“But it was secret enough that you had to send Hugo away, huh?” Yelena says, returning her attention to the files.

Tch. These two are too sharp for their own good.

“Don’t be silly. I wanted sweets.”

Onyankopon gives him a soft smile. “We missed you, too, Eren.”

Eren feels his cheeks burn as he stubbornly focuses on the file before him. But he won’t argue that it’s relieving to have them by his side.

 

*

 

Hugo’s lips are drawn into an annoyed scowl when he returns with an impressive bag of sweets. The scowl diminishes when he spots Theo, and he forces on a more neutral expression on his face.

“The Captain, sir?” he asks.

At the very least, he’s more polite than Kruger. Theo will give him that much.

“He should be in his office.”

The neutral expression takes on a tone of annoyance. “I already checked there, sir. He isn’t in his office.”

That’s Kruger for you. Never where you expect him to be. 

“Have you talked to any of the other staff members?”

“They said he’s been around,” Hugo says.

How unusual. The staff around here typically aren’t that unhelpful nor unfriendly. Are they annoyed by the arrival of Kruger’s squad members? Theo isn’t going to have to deal with some stupid nonsense about their rivalry or something, right? He can already feel the headache mounting from such needless drama.

“The best way to find him is to just announce that you have sweets,” Theo informs him.

Hugo frowns. “With all due respect, sir, we’ve been doing our best to keep our Captain’s sweet tooth a secret. If you just announce it like that, then all of our hard work would be for moot!”

This is probably a bad time to let him know that pretty much everyone around here knows about Kruger’s sweet tooth, huh? Then again, it’s hard to keep things like that a secret when Kruger is so damned careless. Theo wonders if he should issue a gag order to try and help these squad members.

“Alright. Then just send the kids out to bring Kruger. Just… let him know that the package has been delivered. He should be able to figure it out from that, correct?”

Hugo looks much happier by that. “Yes sir!”

Theo sighs. 

It looks like the number of children he needs to care for has grown by three.

 

*

 

“There’s absolutely nothing, huh?”  Onyankopon says as he stretches.

For Eren, it was actually a good time to look through some old records and see what his past self was like, especially in comparison to his old comrades. But he supposes right now is not a good time for a trip down memory lane. He wonders if he was too hopeful in thinking they might find anything on Xaver. 

“Hugo should have returned by now,” Yelena notes. She glances at her watch. “If you really want to keep this a secret from him, we should get going.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Eren returns the files to the shelves when he notices something sticking out jaggedly. It kind of looks like an old photo that has fallen out of one of the files. He picks it up and grimaces at the photo.

“Did you find something?” Yelena asks.

“No.”

He returns the photo where he found it, awkwardly sticking out in the shelves. After a moment’s hesitation, he shoves it in so that it’s no longer sticking out. No one will be tempted to look at it now.

“What was it?” Onyankopon’s brows are furrowed in concern.

But Eren doesn’t feel like addressing it. 

“A bug-catching paper,” he lies.

They don’t ask, but he’s certain they’ll come back to look at it. He hopes they don’t find it. But even if they do, he doubts they’ll understand his revulsion for that photo.

After all, it’s such a happy photo of all eight previous Warriors and their Commander Earldart. 

Why would the War Hero Kruger find such an innocent photo so disgusting?

“I hope Hugo bought something good.”

“I’m sure he did. He has similar tastes as you,” Onyankopon says lightly.

Eren can’t help but to grin. “It’s because he’s a kid.”

“Then what does that make you, Eren?” Yelena asks with her usual dry tone of voice.

“Kid at heart, of course. It’s my boyish charm that Eike loved.”

The two snort. Eren is grateful that he doesn’t have to dodge the topic of Eike with them. And although he’s clearly wrong (Eike preferred his “heroic” charms, after all), they don’t correct him.

 

*

 

“I’ve been wondering… Kruger, whatever happened to that dog of yours?” Commander Magath asks when they’re all gathered to eat the candy that Hugo brought.

Porco recalls the dog by the riverside that Kruger claimed stole his pastries (No one, of course, believes such a lie. Kruger obviously fed that dog. Why else would it be so attached to him?). Magath said that he left the dog tied to a pole near the hospital during the day of the festival. But now that Porco thinks about it, he doesn’t remember seeing the dog afterwards.

“A dog?” Onyankopon asks, looking excited. “You guys have a dog here? Is it a mascot?”

“It ran off,” Kruger says, nipping Onyankopon’s excitement at the bud.

“R-ran off? Kruger, what did you do?” Magath demands.

Porco can’t believe he’s in agreement with the Commander. And from the looks, it doesn’t look like he’s alone. The rest of the Warriors look warily at Kruger, who gives them all an annoyed scowl.

“It’s a wild animal. I thought I wasn’t supposed to take those in.”

“Dogs are different,” Pieck insists.

Kruger sighs. “If you really want it, just go to the riverside with a a bag of pastry. I’m sure it’ll show up to steal it. I’d much rather Hugo over a dog that doesn’t understand me.”

As if to prove a point, Kruger ruffles Hugo’s hair. Hugo turns pink despite looking so indignant for being compared to a dog.

“But it saved your life,” Colt mumbles.

Porco recalls Kruger’s warm hands around them in the hospital room. Did that dog at least get that little of a thanks? It seems kind of unfair if it didn’t. Then perhaps Porco should go look for that dog? It’s important to show gratitude when it’s due. Porco read all about that in some folktales when he was little.

“Let’s go look for that dog,” he finds himself saying.

Magath rubs his temples. “Can’t you do that on your own time?”

“No can do, Commander! Apparently, that mutt is now our mascot,” Kruger says with a grin.

He picks up a candy and is immediately stopped by Yelena.

“If you’re going outside, you should leave these.”

Kruger surprises them by releasing the candy. He draws his hand back, but that seems to be more suspicious to Yelena. She holds her hand out.

“Captain,” she says as warning.

“You’re horrible.” 

Kruger reaches into his pocket and pulls out some of the candy that he somehow snuck away when they weren’t looking. Porco didn’t even realize that Kruger did that. When did he do that? How did he manage to do all of this so fast?

Onyankopon watches this for a second before he comes up to stand behind Kruger. Very casually, he pats the Captain’s pocket. With a bright smile, he turns to Kruger.

“It seems you forgot some over here, Captain.”

“Now you guys are bullying me,” Kruger groans. He takes those out, too.

“How much sweets have you been consuming while we were away?!” Yelena scolds. “I keep telling you to be more self-conscious. You are a War Hero. There’s a lot of children who look up to you. I bet these kids have all become disillusioned by your childishness!”

“Believing people become saint-like or an idealistic version because they’re ‘heroes’ is stupid. It’s far kinder to be normal humans, ‘heroes’ or not. And some of these are special flavor you can only find here. Why wouldn’t I want to try it?”

Porco feels like Kruger lost that argument the minute he started talking about sweets. If he had just cut his point at just the heroes part, it would’ve sounded so cool. Why did he have to ruin it?

“Trying isn’t stuffing your pockets filled with them,” Onyankopon points out.

“They’re not filled. I just took two of each! Hugo, you’re on my side, right?”

Hugo glances nervously at Yelena and then at Kruger. His eyes look like they’re starting to spiral from all the thoughts that must be running in his head. 

“I-I am-”

Yelena, possibly sensing that Hugo might side with Kruger just on gut instinct, smiles sweetly. “But Hugo, don’t you think our Captain is the coolest when he’s being the War Hero?”

Immediately, Hugo straightens. His eyes are bright as he nods vigorously. 

Kruger scowls.

“For what it’s worth, I agree with Hugo,” Marcel says.

And since Marcel said it, the rest of the Warriors all agree. Porco was afraid that having bunch of Eldians pile on like that would make Kruger’s squad members uncomfortable, but it seems that they’re a lot like Kruger. They don’t seem to care too much about the whole Eldian-Marleyan dynamics. Because Yelena is positively beaming. 

“See! Captain, hand over the sweets!”

Kruger mutters darkly under his breath but hands over what Porco assumes is the rest of his sweets. Just in case, Porco grabs a few to sneak to the Captain when no one is watching. Not because he wants secret attention or anything. But it’s just…

Didn’t Bertolt once mention that Kruger gets headaches? 

Y-yeah. 

That’s why.

 

*

 

“Hugo, go buy something sweet from the bakery,” Eren says, handing his coin pouch back to Hugo.

The young soldier gives him a look like he’s judging Eren hard.

“It’s for the dog,” Eren clarifies. And when he realizes that everyone is giving him the same look, he scowls at them. “It’s for the dog! I told you, it likes to steal pastries. Stop looking at me like that.”

Almost as if to mock him, he hears a familiar bark. It’s quickly followed by a heavy body running into his back. The only reason why Eren falls down is because of how unexpected and heavy this stupid mutt is. It’s not because he ate too much sweets or anything. Yelena, Onyankopon, Hugo, stop giving him that look!

With another loud bark, the dog dares to lick Eren’s face.

“You ran away first. Stop being friendly,” Eren grumbles, pushing the stupid dog away from his face.

It barks again and gets off of Eren. Then it takes its time, sniffing and greeting the people gathered before returning to Eren. 

“Looks like it’s pretty attached to you,” Magath says drily. “Are you sure it ran away and you didn’t send it away?”

Eren scowls. “It ran away.”

Why does no one believe him? The minute Eren looked away, the dog bolted the other direction, alright? It probably smelled some poor sap's sweets and ran off to steal it. 

Grumbling under his breath, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small pastry snack he saved for desert.

“You-!?” he hears Yelena exclaim.

Eren holds it up to the dog, who happily munches on it.

“See?” he says. “It likes to eat pastries.”

Belatedly, he realizes that instead of proving his point, he just made all of them come to the wrong conclusion. 

“No wonder it likes you so much. You two are exactly the same!” Marcel giggles.

“Take that back! I’m nothing like this mutt!”

And as if understanding Eren’s own ire, the dog barks.

 

*

 

“Where are you guys staying, anyways?” Kruger asks his squad members as they head back to the headquarters. Despite looking like he hates the dog, he allows it to stay by his side and even occasionally scratches its head.

“I’ve researched and found the perfect apartment for myself,” Yelena says.

“There’s a nice enough place that’s within my budget. I’m supposed to go talk to the landlord later today,” Onyankopon mentions.

Hugo stays quiet and stares at the ground.

“If you don’t have a place, you can stay with me.”

The minute Kruger says that, Yelena and Onyankopon’s tunes change.

“Actually, I don’t have a place to stay at all,” Yelena says.

Onyankopon nods. “Indeed. I know it’s unprofessional of me, but it totally slipped my mind to look for a place!”

It really makes Theo wonder how these four were able to survive in the frontlines. 

“Then, I’ll leave this dog with you, sir,” Kruger says as he tries to push the dog away from himself and towards Theo.

“You have a bigger house than me. You keep it.”

Like hell Theo will take on any more children in!

“But Commander!” Kruger whines.

“Shut up, you stupid brat! Just make your squad members take care of it.”

 

*

 

“Hey Ria, if Eren was alive, what do you think he’d be doing right now?”

Ria tilts her head towards Rosen’s voice. “How unusual. You rarely bring Eren up. What brought this on?”

Rosen doesn’t answer her. But it’s clear that this is something that’s been really bothering him. Is it because of the Jaeger Clinic? She recalls that Rosen started interning there as a way to repay Eren after the fire. Perhaps he finally decided to become a doctor? 

“If Eren was alive right now…”

_ “Pfft! Obviously, I’ll be a hero!” _

_ “What kind of a hero, Eren?” _

_ “What’s with that? A hero is a hero. There’s no ‘kind’ to it.” _

She can’t quite recall Eren’s face clearly in her memory anymore. But she feels like she can still feel the warmth and brilliance in that grin. At that moment when Eren made such a bold declaration, even she felt an envious respect for his ability to say such a childish thing with certainty. If he were to have survived that fire, there’s no doubt in her mind that he would be… 

“… A hero…” 

Ria shakes her head. 

What’s she saying? How can an Eldian ever become a hero? Perhaps if their generation of Warriors were able to inherit Titans, there might have been a way for Eren to achieve that “hero” title that he loved so much. But that kind of a future doesn’t exist for any of them. 

“He’ll probably be a doctor to carry on the Jaeger Clinic,” she amends.

There’s a small pause as Rosen seems to think it over. “Yeah. You’re right. Thanks, Ria.”

He doesn’t say anything more on the topic, but she feels like he just arrived on a decision. She hopes that it aids him in going forward in life. He’s been stuck for too long in that fire from ten years ago.


	12. The Daily Life of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now have an ending chapter count! ^^ I hope you guys haven't forgotten about the game~

The loud barking is accompanied by a crash of what Eren sincerely hopes isn’t dishes. Because damn it. That’s the third crash this morning, and Eren’s about to develop a headache from the sheer amount of noise.

“Bruno, I’m begging you! Please calm down!” Hugo shouts after that stupid mutt.

He knew it. This was indeed a terrible plan. This is why people shouldn’t keep dogs and kids together in one lodging. Everything ends up breaking. 

A loud gunshot rings through the house, and Eren just barely holds back a groan.

And this is why you don’t annoy Yelena before she had her morning coffee.

There’s a knock on his door. It has to be Onyankopon, here to ask if Eren’s awake, because he doesn’t want to brave Yelena alone. But he doesn’t want to help him either. Ugh. Why did Eike have to die? She’s the best when it comes to dealing with Yelena in the early mornings.

“Eren? I made you coffee cake. Won’t you please join us for breakfast?”

… Damn him. If he says it like that, then Eren has to get up.

“Yeah, I’m up.”

Having his squad members is both a blessing and a curse.

 

*

 

It’s been a week or so since Kruger’s squad members have joined them. And to be honest, nothing feels out of place.

Hugo has taken to “sweet” duty that doubles as animal-feeding duty. He’s always seen running in and out of the headquarters with a bag of sweets and pastries. When he’s not taking care of that, he can be seen either playing with the dog that seems to follow Kruger around or the wild cats. Annie honestly doesn’t know if they’re supposed to warn him not to feed the cats. But Magath hasn’t said anything about it, so she figures it’s not a problem.

Yelena stays strictly by Kruger’s side. Annie has never seen that woman more than a yard away from him, and that’s counting the times that Kruger sends her out on a small errand. Typically, she makes a motion like she’s leaving, only to order Hugo or Onyankopon to do it instead. Then she returns to Kruger’s side as if that’s her place.

Onyankopon, on the other hand, is a lot more jolly. He takes the time to ask after each of the Warriors with kindness that doesn’t feel mocking or insincere. It’s never just in private either. If he thinks that the training that Magath gives them is too much or that he believes that they need rest, he doesn’t hesitate to speak up. Annie finds that kindness infinitely more grating. They’re Warriors, not kids.

If there’s any change that she doesn’t really like, it’s that Kruger has become more distant with them.

She doesn’t know if it’s because of the whole assassin situation or if he’s been ordered away. But Kruger always seems to be busy with his nose in bunch of files that he keeps flipping through. 

Even though Annie isn’t as attached to the War Hero as the others, she feels his absence just as acutely.

“It can’t be something that Magath told him to do,” Marcel reasons during lunch one day. “The Commander looked upset that he’s not around, too.”

“It could be an order that came from above Magath,” Porco points out.

Pieck shakes her head. “What’s the point, though? Why would someone that high up ask our Captain to flip through bunch of files?”

“Maybe it’s our next mission?” Bertolt suggests.

Hearing that, Reiner flinches. Annie pretends to not notice.

“Think they’ll actually use us this time?” she asks.

Colt looks uneasy, which makes her raise her brow. What’s with him? Isn’t being used as weapons something that they’ve all prepared themselves for?

“If they don’t, what’s the point of having a Warriors Division?” Marcel grumbles.

Annie agrees. But still Reiner and Colt’s reactions bother her. Did something happen? But they were all together as Warriors. What could they have experienced or seen that the rest of them didn’t?

“It could be the assassin,” Colt mumbles. “Maybe Captain is looking for him.”

“I thought he died?” Bertolt asks confused.

Porco shakes his head. “He was a hired help. There’s someone who’s been hiring these assassins.”

“Jeesh, isn’t our Captain way too popular?” Pieck sighs.

“But why would someone hire assassins to target him? In the grand scheme of things, he’s just a Captain. He doesn’t have any actual power in the government. Even if they’re going after his ‘War Hero’ name, wouldn’t that just turn Kruger into a martyr?” Reiner wonders.

Annie wonders about that, too. The first bombing could have at least been excused as an act of terrorism. But it’s clear that Kruger is being targeted, especially with the last two assassins. At this point, she wouldn’t be shocked if the assassin has a personal vendetta against their Captain. But it still doesn’t seem to explain anything.

“Maybe it’s not his title or rank that they’re going after, but who he knows?” Bertolt guesses.

There’s a look that flashes on Marcel’s face. They all turn to him, waiting for an answer.

“Porco, do you remember? That time when we stopped by Kruger’s hospital room, we were stopped by bunch of guards. There was someone who looked like a nobleman who left the room… Do you think he has something to do with this?”

“But how will we find information on a Marleyan nobleman?” Pieck asks.

Marcel frowns. He crosses his arms in front of himself and seems to be lost in thought. They all wait patiently for him to come to a conclusion.

“I don’t remember seeing him during the ball. So we can cross everyone from the ball off the list. Then we’ll just cross-check whoever is left.”

“That requires us to have a list of noblemen names,” Annie reminds him.

“That ball was thrown in our Captain’s honor. So it’s possible that he has a list like that somewhere. Something for him to remember and greet everyone by their correct titles and names,” Pieck says.

It can’t be that easy. This isn’t one of those fancy princess ball stories that Pieck is imagining. There’s no guarantee that Kruger has something like that. But Annie also doesn’t want to waste her breath with negativity without having any other plans or options to offer.

“Alright,” they decide. “Let’s go look for one!”

 

*

 

The search for Xaver ends due to lack of any leads. Eren feels like he should’ve seen that one coming, but it still depresses him.

Just where could the Beast Titan holder have disappeared off to? The previous Kruger had been just as surprised as Eren when they heard that Xaver had disappeared. So it wasn’t something that the Eldian Restorationists had a hand in. 

But as much as Eren wants to look deeper into this, he has his daily tasks to look into as well.

Sipping the secretly sweet tea Onyankopon made for him, Eren flips through the information about the recent assassin’s potential payer that Magath got him after much pestering. Yelena remarked that she would be able to get more accurate information, but he’s not quite ready to send her into the internment zone just yet. Not out of fear for her safety, but out of fear of what she might do to the poor people who live there. 

The most likely suspects are Eldian merchants with enough money to be able to hire consecutive assassins. That already limits the list down to five people. But Eren can’t figure out their motives. They can live their quiet and peaceful life because of the current Marleyan structure. Why would they suddenly turn on that to hire assassins? Not to mention what does killing Eren accomplish?

“It can’t be these people,” Eren decides, putting the files down.

“Eh? You’ve already figured out who did it then?” Hugo asks, looking at him with wide eyes of awe.

Eren shakes his head. “Not yet. But it can’t be these merchants. They’re all self-made men and women who were able to make that much money by abusing their fellow Eldians and sucking up to the Marleys. They won’t hire assassins to get rid of a Marleyan War Hero.”

“But no one else have this much money,” Onyankopon points out. He bites into the recent pastry Hugo ran to get for them this morning for tea and sweets. “Oh, this is delicious.”

“Then it must under-the-table money or something from the black market,” Yelena notes while sipping her tea. 

“Do Eldians really have something like that?” Hugo asks, sounding surprised.

Onyankopon and Yelena exchange a laugh.

“Eike liked to down-talk Eldians, but they’re still humans in the end. And when humans hit a bottom low, others will come around to take advantage of it. That’s just how cruel we are,” Onyankopon says lightly.

Hugo makes a face. “But Captain isn’t like that!”

“I am,” Eren assures him. “Haven’t you gotten me enough sweets to know that by now?”

That at least stops that train of thought there. But now that the topic has returned to the problem at hand, Eren realizes he has to make the hard choice.

“I guess I’ll have to rely on you to get the information, Yelena,” he sighs.

She beams. “You won’t be disappointed!”

“Don’t cause any trouble that can be traced back to us,” Onyankopon warns her.

“I’m not Eike,” Yelena says lightly.

“Don’t talk bad about the dead,” Eren tells them. Then he puts those files aside for the next stack of papers.

“You have so much paperwork. Do you want some help?” Hugo asks. 

“I’m fine. Magath will kill me if these aren’t perfect.”

Hugo makes a face. “My penmanship has gotten better!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

A knock on the office door interrupts the rest of Hugo’s indignation. 

“Captain, do you have a list of the Marleyan nobles? Commander Magath said he needs it back,” Marcel says.

“Yeah, I have it. Pon-pon, can you give this to him?”

Onyankopon takes the list from Eren’s hands and passes it to Marcel, who smiles gratefully at them.

“Thank you!”

It’s not until a few minutes after Marcel left that Eren realizes that Magath never gave him a list like that. The one that Marcel took is a list that Eren made himself after the ball to learn as many of the names as he can. After all, it’ll be bad form for the War Hero to not know something so basic while asking for money.

That kid is up to no good as always. 

Eren rubs his temples.

“Hugo, can you get that list back? I gave him the wrong one,” he lies.

He can only hope that Marcel hasn’t already copied it down or memorized the list by the time Hugo takes it back.

 

*

 

“… Our Captain is so careless,” Pieck sighs when she sees the list of names in Marcel’s hands.

“Yeah. I didn’t think he’d just hand it over like that,” Marcel agrees. “But it’s our luck!”

The rest of the Warriors gather around to look at the list and…

“How do you read this?”

If there’s one setback they didn’t expect, it’s Kruger’s penmanship. He writes with such flourish and loops that makes whatever it is that he wrote look really pretty. But the problem is that you can’t read it. The loops and curves blend together, and it’s nearly impossible to tell them apart.

“Whua… How are we supposed to use this?” Reiner asks.

“No wonder he gave it away so easily,” Pieck groans.

“It looks really pretty, though,” Bertolt says unhelpfully.

Annie points at the first one. “‘Zack Baldie Marshall.’”

“H-huh? Can you read this?” Colt exclaims at the same time Porco says, “There’s no way that’s the name!”

“That’s what’s written,” Annie informs them. “I think Captain gave them nicknames. They’re all like this.”

“L-let’s quickly make a note of that!”

They’ve copied over the whole list successfully when Hugo finds them. They have enough sense to hide their copied list when he asks for the original note back.

“By the way, Hugo, can you read this?” Porco asks him.

Hugo gives him an annoyed scowl. “Of course, I can! I just… prefer not to because Captain’s penmanship is something you should admire more so than read.”

… He can’t read it, the Warriors conclude.

“Why do you even want to read bunch of names anyways? At that point, just get a census or something.”

“A… census?” Marcel asks, looking like he might have a heart attack.

Hugo looks uncertainly at the expression on Marcel’s face. “Yeah. You know? The thing that lists who lives where and stuff?”

Marcel buries his face in his hands, face beet red. The rest of the Warriors are equally embarrassed as he feels.

They didn’t even think of something so obvious!

“Excuse me. There’s a delivery for Captain Kruger. Can you please direct me towards his office?” a mailman asks with a sheepish duck of the head. 

“I’ll deliver it to him. Is it more flowers? He gets those a lot,” Hugo says as he goes to talk to the mailman.

“It’s a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses,” the mailman explains. There’s a light blush on his face. 

Could this be from the nobleman that Marcel mentioned? With such thoughts, the Warriors gather close.

“What a shame. Our Captain hates sweets. I’ll take the roses to him, though,” Hugo says smoothly.

Kruger’s squad members hide his sweet tooth so naturally. Just a little, the Warriors wonder if they realize that everyone pretty much knows of the Captain’s preference.

“The sender insisted that both be given,” the mailman says. “My guess is there’s a letter with the box of chocolates.”

Hugo rolls his eyes. “Ugh. Okay. I’ll get the letter to him then. Thanks.”

He takes the box of chocolates and the bouquet. Then he sends the mailman on his way. Once the mailman is out of sight, Hugo gives Annie the bouquet to hold while he checks the box. He puts it near his ear. He must have heard nothing, because he gives it a sharp shake. When he’s sure that it’s not going to explode, he opens it and sniffs the chocolates.

“They look fine,” he mumbles. 

As the mailman guessed, there’s indeed a letter on top of the chocolates. Hugo surprises them by not reading it. Instead, he picks up one of the chocolates and bites into it.

“I-is that safe? What if it’s poisoned?” Reiner asks worriedly.

Hugo shrugs. “It’s just chocolate. Do you guys want one? It’ll be better if he just gets the letter without any sweets.”

“Y-yes sir! Thank you!”

 

*

Eren most definitely smells chocolate on this letter. But he can’t bring himself to say anything when both Yelena and Onyankopon are watching him carefully.

“Throw away the bouquet,” Eren says carelessly as he skims the letter. “My Darling Hero, blah blah blah… affections as red as Roses… blah blah… as sweet as chocolates… blah blah… do you remember our Fiery passion of…”

Eren straightens. He looks at the letter more closely. 

“Do you remember our Fiery passion of ten years ago?” reads the last line.

There’s no signature anywhere on the letter. Eren stands up from his desk and takes the bouquet from Hugo’s startled hands. He checks it carefully, but there’s nothing but a small card that marks it from “Forest Flower Cart.”

“E-Eren? Are you alright?” Onyankopon asks slowly.

“Yeah. Just… annoyed as hell. Did the mailman mention anything about the sender? What I should do if I want to return the gift?”

Hugo shakes his head wordlessly. Damn it. 

“S-should I still throw away the bouquet?” Hugo asks.

“Yeah.” Eren picks the letter from his desk and tosses it in the trash, too. 

“What’s gotten you so spooked?” Yelena asks him.

Someone who mentioned “fiery passion” of ten years ago while emphasizing roses? It has to be Rosen. But what’s he doing suddenly trying to get Eren’s attention like this? Especially when he looked like he was a nervous wreck when he last saw him by the riverside. At the very least, this is Rosen’s way of letting Eren know that he knows. But is that really worth sending a Marleyan chocolates and roses?

“If there’s anymore anonymous gifts and letters sent, leave it on my desk. I’ll deal with it.”

They exchange a look that makes it clear that they’re worried for him. But this is part of his past that he cannot share with them. 

“By the way, Hugo, this was sent with a box of chocolates, wasn’t it?”

“Y-you shouldn’t be having so much sweets, Captain!”

“Did you feed it to the dogs or cats? Chocolate is poisonous to dogs and toxic to cats.”

Eren would appreciate it if they didn’t look so impressed by his knowledge. Of course, he’d know this much. The Warriors harp at him enough about not giving sweets to animals as it is.

“I-I… g-gave it to the Warriors, sir,” Hugo admits, looking flustered.

“That’s good. If those have been poisoned, at least they’ll be able to heal. Be careful with the sweets I get, Hugo.”

“Y-yes sir!”

 

*

 

Theo glances through the reports Kruger hands him with the smallest of sighs. 

“Have you ever considered delegating your written reports to your squad members?” he asks.

Kruger dares to look shocked. “Sir, are you suggesting that I abuse my power as a Captain?”

This guy clearly knows what Theo is talking about, but he’s going to play dumb, huh? Theo finds himself sighing again.

“I’ve heard that every time you sigh, a bit of happiness leaves your body. You should take better care, Commander,” Kruger sniggers.

“Whoever came up with such a saying clearly didn’t have to deal with you.”

Theo stares at the reports, squinting to figure out exactly what Kruger has written. The letters from before didn’t seem to have this much flourish or loops. Theo bets that Kruger developed this kind of showy penmanship for reports so that people would be too busy admiring how pretty it looks that they'll completely disregard the badly written report. 

Damned brat.

“Didn’t Milly get headaches from reading your reports?” 

Kruger grins. “He never read them. You’re the only commanding officer who bothers. So I went out of my way to make my letters prettier than usual.”

Theo wonders why he even bothers.

“Rewrite all of this!”

 

*

 

“The Captain’s later than usual,” Yelena remarks with a frown. 

The three of them have tidied up Eren’s office and are waiting for Eren to return so they can all return home together. Of course, she would infinitely prefer it if she was the only one returning home with Eren. But this is better than not having a place to stay at all or letting him stay alone with others.

“I wonder if there’s an issue with his report,” Onyankopon mumbles.

He sighs before opening the drawer to Eren’s desk. He pulls out some snacks and puts it on the desk, clearly a reward for Eren.

“You’re spoiling him. He won’t be hungry for dinner at that rate,” she says. But she can’t stop the grin on her face anyways.

He smiles right back at her.

When the door opens, it’s not Eren but Hugo with that stupid dog. 

“We’re starting to get really hungry. Is he still not done?” Hugo asks. He directs the dog to the corner of the room and looks satisfies when the dog obeys him for once.

“Maybe the reports weren’t written to Commander Magath’s standards,” Onyankopon says. “This Commander sure is strict.”

Hugo glances at the sweets on the desk. “Can I have one?”

“Go ahead. Captain rarely cares if we eat his sweets as long as he gets one,” Yelena says.

“He’s so selfish and childish,” Hugo sighs, shaking his head. But there’s a smile on his face as he picks up one of the sweets and puts it in his mouth. “But then he’s suddenly unexpectedly kind, and my heart won't return to normal for hours! I just wish he’d stop babying me and let me do some of the cool stuff that you guys do.”

“We’re not doing anything cool,” Onyankopon laughs.

Yelena nods. “If anything, we’re all being kept in the dark. That recent gifts that he received is suspect.”

“But it was just chocolates and-”

Hugo covers his mouth, coughing. His brows furrow and he hits his chest with his fists, seemingly like he’s trying to get something down.

“Do you want some water?” Onyankopon offers as he moves.

The dog’s ears perk up, and it begins to growl lowly. Yelena should’ve realized that’s a hint.

She moves to touch Hugo’s shoulders. 

“Are you choking? Do you need help?”

Hugo doesn’t slump. It’s not quite a slump. But he leans heavily against her, forcing her to quickly steady herself to hold him. Then and only then does she notice the red seeping from between Hugo’s fingers. Blood…? From his mouth…?

“Onyankopon, call a medic!” she shouts.

The dog begins to bark, but she really doesn’t want to deal with that right now. She thinks she heard the door open and Onyankopon leave. But right now, she can’t focus on that. She needs to focus on Hugo.

Except what the hell is she supposed to do?

She positions him so that the blood will drip out of his mouth and down to the floor. At the very least, he won’t choke on his own blood and die. But how is she supposed to stop him from vomiting blood? She shouldn’t pat his back, because that could potentially cause something to dislodge. She doesn’t think she should tear his hand away, since it looks like it’s catching majority of the blood. Then what should she do?

“H-hey, it’s… it’s going to be-”

She can’t bring herself to lie.

Not when Hugo’s terrified eyes meet hers. And she’s struck with the fact of just how  _ young  _ he is. That’s right. He’s just a kid. A kid much too young for the battlefield. Isn’t that why Eren went out of his way to keep him away from the bloodshed? And now he’s…

He’s…

“Yelena! Hugo!”

Eren is out of breath when he rushes in to kneel before the two of them. Behind him, Magath follows at a brisk pace. He takes in the situation and seems to settle on calming the dog, which Yelena is much thankful for. That barking was starting to give her a headache.

“I… don’t think there’s anything we can do to help,” she admits softly. 

Oh, that’s right. 

That’s why she decided to stake her life by this man’s side. She loved the look of anguish on his face when he grieved over the fallen soldiers. If someone could mourn her death as this man did, she thought that she could die happily. She wonders if Hugo understands the romance in such a sentiment. Probably not, right? He’s much too young to take relief in Eren’s love for them.

Eren moves to support Hugo’s body against his own, leaning Hugo’s head against his chest. He doesn’t seem to notice the blood as Hugo begins to tremble. Is he feeling cold? Should she offer her jacket?

“You… You’ve done well, Hugo,” Eren says. “Thank you for your services. I… couldn’t have asked for a better squad member.”

They helplessly watch Hugo bleed out against Eren until the medics get there.

By then, Hugo has long stopped breathing.

 

*

 

“H-he started coughing and vomiting blood after eating one of these,” Onyankopon explains to the medics.

“One of these” being one of the sweets Eren stashed away in his drawer. Since Hugo has been diligently running errands for him by getting other sweets, he hadn’t really touched those in a while. But this kind of reaction can’t be because of eating some old sweets, can it? Unless that damned janitor swapped his sweets out with poisoned ones?

“If it happened right away, then it’s too soon. Ingesting poison takes some time,” the medics say.

… Time?

They all had breakfast and lunch together. They were planning on getting dinner after Eren finished turning his report in. Onyankopon made some tea for them, and Hugo got them some sweets and pastries… 

Right.

The chocolates and the bouquet of roses.

_ “I-I… g-gave it to the Warriors, sir.” _

When Hugo said the ‘Warriors,’ did he mean Colt and Porco as well…?

“Captain, the Warriors!” Onyankopon exclaims, seemingly having arrived on the same conclusion as Eren.

“What’s going on, Kruger?” Magath asks. His eyes are sharp as he glares Eren down.

But first thing first.

Eren turns to one of the medics. “If I brought you Eldians, can you take care of them?”

The hesitant looks and muted disgust is more than enough of an answer. Eren nods and squeeze their shoulder.

“Thanks for being honest.”

Then he grabs his cap to hide his face the best he can and begins to leave. As expected, Onyankopon, Yelena, and Magath follow after him. The dog glances at them for a second but is ushered away by one of the medics. Good. They’re short on time, so he wants to keep the explanations as short and simple as possible. Not to mention he doesn't want to babysit a dog on top of all that.

“The only thing Hugo ate differently from us is a box of chocolates I received today. He shared them with the Warriors. Porco and Colt won’t be able to heal if it turns out that those chocolates are indeed the reason for this. Onyankopon, grab Colt Grice and bring him to the Jaeger Clinic. Yelena, go straight to the Jaeger Clinic and explain to them what’s going on and to get ready to look over the Warriors. Commander, I’m sorry to be asking this of you, but can you please inform the rest of the Warriors to get to the Jaeger Clinic? Just to keep an eye on all of them.”

“What are you going to be doing?” Magath asks.

“I’ll grab Porco. Oh, and if you guys need directions, ask around.”

 

*

 

Theo can’t help but to note that as soon as they arrive at the gates to the entrance of the internment zone, Kruger takes off running. The security looks alarmed, but Theo quickly explains to them the importance of urgency.

“But we can’t just let you guys run in like this! There’s proper procedure to things like this, you know,” one of them complain.

“It’s an emergency. Everything will be explained later,” Theo emphasizes. “Or are you saying that you’d like to be held responsible for the death of our weapons?”

That shuts them up.

Onyankopon and Yelena asks for directions, but Theo already has the place memorized. He won’t be shocked if it turned out that Kruger also memorized the internment zone’s layout just as he already had the kids memorized before meeting them. For a man who seems so carefree, he’s quite diligent when it counts. If only that showed in his paperwork… 

The closest house from here is Annie’s. He’s going to assume that Onyankopon and Kruger have enough senses to bring the Grice and Galliard families to the Jaeger Clinic. 

He really hopes that this surprise visit doesn’t terrify the families too much.

 

*

 

They’re in the middle of family game night when there’s frantic knock on the door.

Porco goes to open it because he’s a sore loser who can’t stand the fact that he’s going to lose this round. Marcel isn’t mentally cackling or anything. He’s a model older brother, you see.

“H-huh?! Captain?!”

That catches the rest of the Galliards off-guard. They all rush to the door, where Kruger has Porco picked up in his arms, being careful not to bother his cast. When he notices the rest of the family, he gives a stiff nod. Marcel can't help but to stare at the speckle of what looks to be blood on Kruger's uniform.

“There’s been an incident. Please bring a change of clothes for Porco and meet us at the Jaeger Clinic. We’ll explain everything in detail then. Time is of essence, so please do excuse me for now.”

Marcel stares at the confused expression on Porco’s face for a second before rushing to put on his shoes. “Mom, dad. Bring me a change of clothes, too. I’ll stay with Porco until you two get there.”

That finally pushes their parents to action. Seeing that, Kruger leaves at a pace that’s a little hard for Marcel to keep up with. 

“Captain, what’s going on?” he asks.

“Hugo is dead. I suspect it’s the chocolate you guys ate earlier today.”

Even though that’s all he says, that’s all Marcel needs to hear. As someone who cannot heal, Porco is a priority. Marcel assumes that the rest of Kruger’s squad members are getting Colt. 

“H-Hugo is…?” Porco whispers.

“Don’t worry about that for now. Are you feeling alright? Any sign of discomfort? You need to let me know right away,” Kruger says with surprising firmness.

If the situation wasn’t what it was, Marcel would have teased the Captain for caring so much about them. But any teasing or jokes fall short from his lips. How can he say something so insensitive when Porco might…

As if understanding Marcel’s own feelings, Kruger picks up his pace.

 

*

 

His grandparents look frail.

That’s the first thing Eren notices when he enters the Jaeger Clinic. The second is that they won’t meet his eyes. It seems he didn’t have to worry about being recognized. He could’ve come here without his cap and they wouldn’t have noticed the difference.

“Captain,” Yelena greets with a salute.

It seems she wants to really emphasize his rank today, huh? She very rarely salutes like this. Is it because she's in front of Eldians? Did Eike's talks get to her?

“At ease,” he tells her. Then he puts Porco down on the ground. “Please look at him.”

Without meeting his eyes, his grandparents rush to obey.

His heart aches at the sight.

The clinic itself doesn’t seem to have changed too much. There’s still six beds in the main clinic area with curtains available for privacy. If memory serves, there should be two private rooms in the back, but he doesn’t care to check if they’re occupied. Upstairs is the family living area for the old couple.

If there’s anything that has changed, it’s the small bulletin board with bunch of pictures of people that Eren doesn’t remember seeing or meeting. He wonders if these are the new clients that his grandparents took on. There’s no sign of any pictures of family, though. Are they too grieved by the constant tragedies to put those up?

“Captain, please feel free to sit here,” his grandma says as she motions at a chair by Porco’s bedside.

“Thank you.”

Her smile looks frayed. She probably hates having Marleyan officers in the clinic. But Eren right now is too worried about Porco to properly be sensitive to her needs. 

Yelena comes to stand by his side. Marcel stays with Porco, looking like he might burst into tears at any second. And Porco gives them all annoyed glares, loudly complaining that he’s fine. But Eren doesn’t know if he can believe that just yet.

And it’s something that Eren has thought of before, but… if push comes to shove, should he just give his Attack Titan to Porco? Sure, it means cutting his life down to 13 years. But it’ll save him from dying like Hugo did. Like…

His grip tightens on his knees. 

Few minutes after they arrived, Onyankopon comes in with the Grices. Few minuets after that, the Galliard parents arrive. And after waiting for a while longer, Magath arrives with the rest of the Warriors and their families.

The worries in their eyes are understandable. But right now, Eren doesn’t think he can stomach talking to them.

He leaves the information explanation to Magath.

“I’m going out for a smoke,” he mumbles.

Yelena shoots him a worried look, silently asking if he wants company. He shakes his head. There’s a tight look on her face before she moves to block anyone who might come after him.

Thank god she’s so perceptive.

This place hasn’t changed at all, and it’s slowly starting to sink in now that he’s had the time to think. He lights his cigarette and leans against the wall of the clinic.

When he was younger, he came over to his grandparents’ a lot. Carla and Grisha had their “dancing” that they had to go to. He ended up helping his grandpa with easier duties around the clinic because of that. And once he became a Warrior, he…

“Ah…!”

At the sound of the soft exclamation, Eren turns to look.

He wonders why he feels so shocked to see Rosen standing there. “A doctor,” Rosen had introduced himself.

_ “Except not really. He’s the intern at the Jaeger Clinic.” _

That’s what Porco said in the hospital room when Eren asked.

That little should have been more than enough for Eren to know that when he rushed to the Jaeger Clinic with an emergency, Rosen would be called, too.

“You have some nerve to show your face to me,” Eren finds himself saying.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I work here,” Rosen tells him with a forced smile.

“That was a shitty gift you sent me.”

Rosen shrugs. “It doesn’t affect Eldians. Seeing you’re fine, it seems my theory was correct. You’re… It is you, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t eat any of the chocolates. The kids did.”

“How devious of you. Feed unknown substances to bunch of Eldians. If they die, no one will blink twice.”

Eren laughs. It’s not even funny, but he laughs. He drops the cigarette to the ground and stomps it out. 

Rosen seems to understand that something’s wrong, because he tenses. Just in time, too. Eren lunges for him. The two of them fall to the ground, wrestling for control. And it seems that his training and his time on the frontline served him well, because Eren finds himself on top. Or is this because Rosen isn’t struggling against him?

And for just a second, it feels like they’re kids again. It feels like they’re Warriors again. 

Faintly, he’s aware that his cap has fallen off somewhere. Faintly, he’s aware that his broken arm in his cast seems to throb from the sudden impact. Faintly, he’s aware that he is armed with a gun and two knives. Faintly, he’s aware that he’ll have to kill Rosen tonight.

“You’re always so damned emotional,” Rosen growls lowly. “Cool your head and think about where we are, idiot!”

Annoying. 

He doesn’t want to think about that.

He doesn’t want to think about how hard it was to build up this “War Hero Eren Kruger” persona. He doesn’t want to think about how meticulously the previous Kruger worked to ensure the perfect paperwork and backstory that no one would suspect. He doesn’t want to think about how frustrated Niko got to hide his Eldian bloodline whenever he was injured. He doesn’t want to think about everyone’s efforts to keep him hidden and safe.

 Slowly, Eren releases Rosen and stands back up.

“Rose, we need to talk.”

“Yeah, we do. I have a place in mind. Come with me?”

 

*

 

Marcel covers his mouth in hopes that he doesn’t accidentally make any sound. What was that? What was that? They know each other? How? How?!

For just a second, he recalls the photo of the Public Security Authorities officer “Eren Kruger.” In the background, Rosen had been laughing with another child that Marcel didn’t recognize. Could it have been his Captain when he was younger? 

But…

Doesn’t that mean that the War Hero Kruger is…? Doesn’t that mean the entirety of the backstory of the War Hero Kruger is a lie? Because all this time, he was…? 

Someone grabs Marcel’s shoulder, making him flinch. Magath holds up his finger to his lips before motioning for Marcel to go back inside of the clinic. 

Wait, Marcel wants to beg. He desperately wants to know more. He wants to figure out exactly how all of the puzzle pieces fit in. 

But Magath’s lips are drawn into a firm line, and Marcel gets the feeling that he will get in trouble if he protests.

Reluctantly, Marcel returns to the clinic, wondering if Magath is going to follow Kruger.


	13. The Heart of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter heavily borrows from Chapter 114 aka Zeke’s backstory. So spoilers for the manga, even if I changed a lot of things around. It is also filled with a lot of exposition. So if you're not too interested, feel free to skim through. ^^

_ “Eren, you are special because you were born. Don’t ever forget that.” _

_ “No, no, Carla. It’s not that you’re special because you were born, Eren. It’s because you were born as our son. You will be the hero that saves all of Eldia.” _

Using the night as their cover, the two of them arrive at the Eldian Cemetery tucked far in the corner of the internment zone. 

“No one comes here at this time of the night. We’ll be left undisturbed,” Rosen explains. 

But now that they’re alone in a new location, surrounded by the dead, Eren finds that he doesn’t know what to say or where to begin. Should he accuse Rosen of being the assassin? Is that where they need to start? But in the same breath, he imagines that Rosen is dying to know everything that’s happened in the last ten years. 

“This is where we buried you,” Rosen says casually. He motions at the grave marker. “I have no clue whose body they pretended was yours. But we had a body to bury. Hey Eren, do you know how horrifying it is to see a dead man walking?”

Eren closes his eyes. 

It looks like they’ll start with the fire ten years ago then.

Taking a sharp intake of breath, he holds it for a second before releasing it. Just a little, he feels calmer. He opens his eyes to watch Rosen, who is glaring at the grave marker.

“To answer your question before, yeah. It is me. I’m Eren Jaeger.”

Rosen makes a face as he turns towards Eren. “Yeah, no shit.”

Eren rubs the back of his neck, feeling awkward. He thought that will be a good place to start. But Rosen is glaring at him like he’s answered wrongly on the test again even though they went over these questions all last night, Eren. Why don’t you pay better attention?

“I don’t know where to start,” Eren admits.

“That arson was caused by you, right? Start there. What went through your brilliant mind that you decided setting the headquarters with us in it on fire was a great thing to do?”

_ “We have finally found a lead. Seems like they have taken the name of Eldian Restorationists… We already have a good grasp of the situation. What we need now is to find some evidence, and that’s a matter of time.” _

“Have you heard about ‘Eldian Restorationists?’”

Rosen raises a brow. “Huh? That was the made-up lie the Marleys came up with to blame the arson on.”

“It wasn’t a lie,” Eren says slowly. “There really was a group that stupidly thought that they could overturn the Marleys. They pinned all of their hopes on a kid. ‘If this kid can become a Warrior and inherit a Titan, we will have the upperhand! Eren, you will be our hero.’”

“I… thought it was a lie. And I thought that if the Marleys were so scared of it, I’ll turn it into the truth… They were real? T-they really followed a bird?” Rosen asks, looking awed.

“O-Owl wasn’t actually a bird. It was a man using a pseudonym.”

Rosen looks disappointed by that. Eren tries not to think about how offended the previous Kruger would’ve been if he knew about this. 

“A-anyways, I took it to heart. ‘I will be a hero.’ Without considering exactly what that means, I blindly followed their rhetorics and plans. All I had to do was inherit a Titan. How hard can that be? But then the Marleys began to close in on the Restorationists. They said that they just needed evidence. I tried to warn my parents, but they wouldn’t believe me. They truly believed that they were undefeatable.”

There’s a small pause as Eren tries to gather his courage. But before he can speak, Rosen does.

“That’s why Commander Egghead kept coming after you, wasn’t it? To find this ‘evidence?’”

_ “Jaeger? What are you doing here so late? Well, since you're here anyways, come help me. You said you wanted to be a hero, didn’t you? It’s a very easy job. All you have to do is report to me if you see anything odd. See? Even an Eldian like you should be able to do that.” _

Eren nods. “Yeah. I don’t think he suspected anything. But since I hung out at the headquarters until late anyways, he figured I’d be useful.”

“O-oh… I-it was that…? I… always thought it was a lot more sinister. After the arson, when they asked, I told them he was always gunning for you. About how he’d always pull you to the side, how he’d always talk to you in private, and how he’d always be really touchy-feely with you.”

“Huh? But he wasn’t particularly…?”

Rosen blushes. “I didn’t know that. You never explained anything and then set the place on fire!”

Well… yes. But… Is it really right to smear someone’s name like that after his death? Sure, Earldart was a grade A Marleyan Asshole, but that was about it. He wasn’t particularly a bad person nor went out of his way to make their lives miserable.

“On the day of the arson, I killed Egghead. Apparently, that was also the day that he was supposed to meet with Public Security Authorities members. It was bad timing more than anything. They walked in to see me covered in Earldart’s blood. So I did the only thing I could do. I killed them, too. And to hide what I did, I set the place on fire. I didn’t even consider anyone else in that building. I just set it on fire and watched it burn.”

He’s not going to mention the Attack Titan and the previous Kruger for now. But after Eren killed everyone, the previous Kruger healed himself and addressed him.

_ “Do you want to save your family?” _

And that’s the story of how Eren ended up following the Owl of Eldian Restorationists to a rural town called  Silvis. The previous Kruger was smart. He told his former colleagues in Liberio that he had a meeting with his illegitimate child, so he ended up never making it to the Warrior Headquarters. Using shame as his excuse, he was officially transferred to the Titan Research Center in Silvis. He then played the aloof and mysterious man until one day he “couldn’t take it” anymore and “drunkenly” admitted to the people at the bar the “truth” behind his “son.”

The people of Silvis sure was welcoming after that, even if their gazes towards Eren felt pitying at times.

There was never any bandit attack on the Titan Research Center. That was an excuse the previous Kruger and Eren came up with so Eren could inherit the Attack Titan. The fifty or so Pure Titans that escaped was an accident. It was never supposed to be that much. That’s why Eren worked so hard to try and clean up his mess by saving as many people as he can.

He’s no hero.

He never was. 

He set the building on fire without any consideration as to who was still inside. And when he realized belatedly how many of his comrades were there, he abandoned the previous Kruger to help them the best he could. And even then, it wasn’t enough. Was it, Rose?

He freed the Pure Titans to feast on the people of Silvis without any consideration of what else could go wrong. And once he had the Attack Titan and his own mind back, he found out too late just what kind of a mess Silvis was in. 

People called him a “hero,” because they didn't know any better. But he wasn't. How could he be when he orchestrated those tragedies? But people need their "heroes." After every tragedy, they need to have someone to look at and fawn over. Even if it's a lie, Eren learned to play that role.

“I got lucky when I ran away. There were kind enough people who helped me disguise who I am and take care of me. And eventually, I enlisted in the military, and here we are. Now your turn, Rose. What the hell are you doing? Why are you gunning after a ‘War Hero’ for?”

“I… thought you were dead. I believed, like everyone else, that you died in that fire after saving everyone’s lives. We called you a hero, Eren. And we all moved in your memory, especially when they blamed that fire on us. Iris and Os joined the Eldian Voluntary Army in hopes of protecting us. Sigi was in a coma. Ria lost her eyesight. Don stopped talking… I… I had what can only be described as a mental break. All of our parents were taken from us under the guise that they were part of this  ‘Eldian Restorationists’ that we believed to be fake. Your grandparents took me in. So I decided that I’ll be timid and weak Rosen for them. Someone who never recovered from that arson.”

And in the shadows, he created a form of Eldian Restorationists as revenge? As always, those who holds the “Warrior” title is much too terrifying. Did the Marleys ever consider that? That they were giving even greater weapons to the very people that they claimed to hate?

“It was scary at first. I put on disguises and pretended to be people I wasn’t in order for more information, more power. And when the Marleys gave us a gag order, calling the events of arson as ‘taboo,’ I… I wanted to destroy them. I wanted nothing more than to rip them apart and leave nothing but their ashes behind. So I kept a close eye on them and their movement.”

Rosen pauses for a second, shaking his head. Eren wonders what’s more terrifying. The fact that his friend was able to accomplish all of that as a normal human with a grudge? Or the fact that all of this happening in the shadows and no one was any wiser?

“They called you a ‘War Hero.’ A random soldier in the frontlines whose record was impressive, don’t get me wrong. But… that’s all you were. Just a random soldier. But the Marley government bent over backwards to transfer you to Liberio. Then they assigned you to the newly formed Warriors Division. It felt too purposeful to be a coincidence. So I sent assassins to figure out what your deal was.”

“What did you find out, Rose?” Eren asks. 

Because if he found out about the Attack Titan, then it’ll be the perfect segway into the next topic.

“Those kind people that helped you… It was the Tybur family, wasn’t it? Every time I made a move against you, it was always them that reacted. They went above and beyond to keep you safe and comfortable. Knowing you, you probably got sick and tired of that. That’s why you ran away to the frontlines, wasn’t it? And as soon as you were discovered thanks to Glory of Gramina, they moved mountain and earth to bring you back to Liberio. They crowned you ‘War Hero’ and gave you the rank ‘Captain’ in hopes of keeping you safe.”

So close yet so far. It’s impressive enough what Rosen found. But it’s still not quite the truth.

“That’s good, Rose,” he says with a smile. He’s about to continue on. To tell him the truth when-

The sound of a branch snapping catches both of their attention. They turn to see a shabbily dressed man, holding freshly picked flowers in his hands. The man stares at the two of them, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

“D-Don!” Rosen exclaims. “I didn’t think you were working today. Hey, you’ll never believe this. Do you know who this is? It’s Eren! It’s-”

Eren doesn’t know how to react. 

The Don in his memory is a large and rambunctious boy who rivaled Oswald when it came to pure size and strength. But unlike Os, Don was loud and confident. He absolutely hated silence and went out of his way to make some kind of noise, even if it’s something little like tapping his foot or clicking his nails. 

But the Don before him now is a raggedy and frayed man, who looks like he might be homeless. Stopped talking, Rosen had said. And Eren feels like he sees it. The stress that lines Don’s face. The disbelief mixed with relief and hope in his eyes. The struggle Don seems to go through to stammer out his words.

“E-Eren…?” he asks.

He moves, dropping the flowers as he goes. His hands clumsily reaches for Eren’s shoulders. And he’s struck by just how much weight Don has lost. How tired he looks. How-

_ “W-wait! Eren, I… I don’t understand! D-did you kill them? Is that what this is? A-and the fire? It was all you? S-stop looking away. Face me and talk to me. Don’t you dare run!” _

_ “Don, if I ever meant anything to you, don’t say a word about what you saw.” _

Did he take that to mean to stop speaking altogether? Did he force himself to stay in absolute silence because of such a careless remark? Hey Don-

Then it must have finally sunk in for him, because his emotions swirl into anger. Into rage. Into disbelieving desperation. Don’s hands creep from Eren’s shoulders to his neck. But they don’t apply any real pressure for it to hurt. Perhaps Don doesn’t know what he wants from this? Because Eren feels just as confused.

“You… you…”

It sounds like not speaking for so long has stunted his ability to do so. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that he’s choking on his emotions? And isn’t that hilarious? Eren’s the one who’s being strangled, but Don’s the one choking.

“Why… didn’t you-”

The gunshot is unneeded.

The gunshot is unnecessary.

The gunshot is…

It’s ringing in Eren’s ears as he catches Don’s limp body. The bullet entered from the side of Don’s temple and out the other end. Is that brain bits and blood leaking out? Eren doesn’t know. He doesn’t. He-

“Eren!” 

Rosen has his gun out as he moves to stand between Eren and the one who shot. He positions himself as if to protect Eren, when Eren is the one who cannot die. Rosen’s gun is pointing at…

Magath.

Commander Magath.

There’s fear in Rosen’s form. His hands are trembling wildly. This is probably why he always hired someone else to try and kill Eren. How odd. Eren always thought that Rosen’s hands will be the steadiest. Isn’t he a doctor? No, that’s right. He never bothered with the exam, did he? He’s just an intern.

In contrast to that, Magath is an infinite calm. His hands are steady. The gun is aimed in Rosen and Eren’s direction. How much did he hear? How much does he know? Because his expression is neutral as if he didn’t just shoot someone in the head.

“Captain, the man next to you admitted to being part of a radical Eldian group. Furthermore, he sent those assassins after you without care to the lives that will be in danger because of it. Your response to that is?”

Magath’s gaze is judging. It’s accusing. It’s strangling him. 

He knows. He knows.

_ “Just live as a normal Marleyan. Disappear from view. You don’t have to continue on as the Attack Titan. You don’t have to be a hero. Just… live, Eren. Live a long and happy life. Even if it means that you are the only one left at the end of it all. Live with the intention of being happy. Live for the sake of their happiness, too. With the belief that as long as you’re happy, they’ll be, too.” _

_ “You already know my answer.” _

_ “Then let me gives you one last piece of advice. When they ask you to prove your loyalty to the Marleys, kill your heart.” _

He knows, okay? He knows.

Rosen is his friend. Rosen has been by his side since they were Warriors together. Rosen is the one who competed the most against him, staying just out of Eren’s reach. Rosen is the one who stayed by Eren’s grandparents to make sure they’ll be okay. Rosen is the one who came after him, even if he didn’t realize it was Eren at first. Rosen is… 

Rosen is his dream.

His dream, his goal, his naive innocence of a long ago past.

And Magath is…

The laughter of the Young Warriors seem to fill his ears. He feels like he can see it. The easy grin on Marcel’s face. The blushing scowl on Porco’s. Pieck’s teasing smile. The blush on Reiner’s face as he smiles uncertainly. Bertolt’s shy dip of the head, hiding his smile. Annie’s twitch of the lips as she looks away. The way Colt smiles only after making sure that it’s okay to.

If it had been anyone other than Magath, those kids would not have dared to smile like that.

If it had been any other Marleyan commander, everything would have fallen apart like it did before.

If…

Eren draws his gun. 

If it had been anyone else, Eren would have chosen Rosen.

He’s aware of the betrayal in Rosen’s eyes. The betrayal and hurt. And… Huh? Hey, Rosen, you’re about to die. Why the hell are you smiling…? 

It’s over in a split second.

He didn’t even register firing his gun. He didn’t even hear his gun go off. He didn’t feel the recoil. Feel… 

The blood freely flowing from Rosen’s head is his fault. He knows that. Even if he doesn’t register it, he knows it. Knows it in the way his gun is smoking. Knows it in the way his breathing is uneven. Knows it in the way that his heart is… 

Rosen’s body falls to the ground. 

And Eren is numb.

He thinks his knees might have given out. He thinks he might have let Don go in the middle of all of that. All he knows is that he’s on the ground, his cast-free hand clenched tightly into a fist. His gun, long abandoned on the ground. There’s a bitterness where his heart should be. Bitterness and self-loathing and anger.

But not regret.

Because to regret is to make a mockery of Rosen’s death. To regret is to reduce Rosen’s last smile into a joke. To regret is to smear all of the previous Kruger’s hard work.

He thinks he might be screaming. He thinks he might be howling. He thinks he might be crying bloody murder for the world to hear.

But he feels so damned numb.

Something touches his hair gently. He glances up. 

Magath is standing over him. He’s holding Eren’s cap to his head, using the bill to block his view of the Commander’s expression. 

Does he feel betrayed? Does he feel hurt? Does he feel the same things that Rosen felt in his final moments? Does he understand what Eren feels? Does he know how Eren feels?

“Let’s get back.”

Magath moves to step away and-

Eren stops him.

He grabs Magath’s hand, preventing the Commander from moving away. 

“Don’t you feel betrayed? I lied to you. I lied to everyone. I’m not a hero. I’m not even a Marelyan. You heard all of that, didn’t you? Aren’t you hurt? Aren’t you disillusioned? The oh-so-great War Hero Kruger is nothing but a snot-nosed brat that got bunch of innocent people killed! I’m a fucking monster who willingly put a bullet through my best friend’s brain. Magath, say something!”

He thought Magath will kick him away. Or maybe just shove him off. Something, anything, that will show his impatience. That will show that he had been hurt.

He doesn’t expect for a small sigh.

He doesn’t expect for Magath to sit down next to him.

He doesn’t expect to see Magath’s tired face.

“What do you want me to say?”

“S-say… Say what you think about this situation. Tell me that I messed up. That I should never have done anything like this. That I should’ve died in that fire. Judge me. Yell at me. Get mad at me. I don’t know. Just… say something. Please don’t leave me alone in silence. I can’t… I can’t…”

There’s a beat of silence before Magath moves.

He puts a hand on the back of Eren’s neck and pulls him towards his chest. It’s awkward. Eren should most definitely move to make himself more comfortable. But he’s a little caught off-guard about why Magath did this. What is he doing?

“It was scary alone, wasn’t it?” Magath asks. “You had to face the world at that young of age. You… You did well to-”

Eren pushes Magath away, snarling. He grabs Magath by the front of his uniform. 

“Shut up! Don’t mock me! You’re… you’re always so…”

That’s not pity in Magath’s eyes. That’s not judgement. That’s not hate. 

“Kruger, you are one of  _ my _ men. That’s the only reason why I’m forgiving this tantrum of yours.” 

Magath knocks Eren’s cap off and ruffles his hair. Eren wonders why such a simple gesture comforts him so. How does Magath always seem to know exactly what to say, what to do?

“I gave you a choice. Your Eldian past or your Marleyan future. You chose me. Don’t think I don’t realize that.”

The fight leaves Eren. 

That’s right. He chose Magath. He chose that because he believed Magath to be the best possible future for those kids. He and the previous Warriors may have suffered needlessly, but the current Warriors won’t have to if Magath is here. 

That’s what he believed. What he still believes.

He releases the front of Magath’s shirt and crumples against his reliable Commander. Faintly, he is aware that Magath is holding him. Faintly, he’s aware that he’s crying. 

Faintly, he wonders if Magath is really okay with this.

Is it really okay that the Marleyan War Hero is such a weak crybaby?

Is it really okay that ‘Captain Kruger’ is such a bratty Eldian?

Then he feels Magath’s finger through his hair. Then he hears the exasperated sigh leave Magath’s mouth. Then he sees the wet spots on Magath’s uniform from his tears that Magath is allowing.

Then he recalls the smile on Rosen’s face.

And he allows himself to start forgiving himself.

 

*

 

What the hell is he doing?

This was not how he imagined his life to end up being when he first joined the military. First of all, there’s far less glory. Not to mention there’s a distinct lack of honor and respect. And sure, he’s watched those war movies that showed the gruff veterans smoking while complaining about wide-eyed children on the battlefield with them. But he thought that was more of a metaphor about naive young men, not literal children.

Kruger at least seems to have calmed down considerably since he first started crying.

It doesn’t look like he’s asleep, which is a relief. Theo doesn’t want to explain by himself to the Public Security Authorities what happened here or to Yelena and Onyankopon about why their Captain looks like he cried himself to sleep. 

How the hell did everything come to this?

When he was younger and much more naive, he believed in the story of Helos. A Marleyan hero who could breath glory and honor into the current shell of a military system they have. When he was much more foolish, he believed himself to be that hero. That as long as he struggled and fought and won victories, he would be able to show the world that Marley can stand at the top of the world even without Titan powers.

But as he grew older and he saw more of the world (more of his military), he realized that it was not possible.

The Helos of legend is just that. A mythical figure. A hollow statue. An ideal with no heart or soul. 

The Marley military relied too heavily on the Titan powers. The average Marleyan citizen could care less about the state of the world or their standing. News of military might and victories were just words on a paper that was tossed to the streets without a second glance. No one was interested as he was in reclaiming the honor and glory of battle. 

No one cared.

Until Kruger.

When the news of Glory of Gramina first hit the papers, there was a shift. It was little, but Theo saw it. The sudden interest everyone seems to have taken in their military. The prideful way people’s tongues wagged about the great War Hero Kruger. 

Don’t get him wrong. He wasn’t bitter. He wasn’t angry. Rather, he was excited and giddy.

The Marleyan Hero Helos, he thought. Kruger could do it.

Kruger could achieve that dream.

Betrayed, Kruger had said. Betrayed, hurt, disillusioned. 

And Theo is pretty sure that a part of him does feel all that. He’s sure that if he were to sit down and actually think about what happened, he would most definitely be angry. Angry and frustrated and disappointed. Angry at himself for falling for this trick again. Frustrated at himself for not realizing the burdens on Kruger’s shoulders. Disappointed at himself for repeating his mistake of ten years ago.

Because he noticed.

Yes, it turned out that his theory was wrong, too. Earldart did not, in fact, prefer children. That was a misunderstanding on all of their parts because none of them bothered to figure out what was going on. 

And it would have been easy, too.

All Theo had to do was walk up to Earldart and ask why he kept signalling out Jaeger. But he didn’t. He just watched from a distance with a disapproving frown. And it never occurred to him that he should step in. Because why should he protect an Eldian?

But if he had stepped in, he might have been able to stop the arson. He might have stopped Jaeger from snapping and starting up this chain of events. He might have been able to help those young Warriors that were forced to grow up too fast. 

Or is that being too haughty?

Is he putting more self-worth than he deserves? Because if he starts going down that rabbit hole, he realizes that he would end up losing the War Hero Kruger if he saves the Warrior Jaeger.

Perhaps nothing would have changed, even if he did get involved. Perhaps he would have actually made things worse. Perhaps everything would have played out the same, no matter what. Predetermined lives, if you will.

He doesn’t know what the answer is. But he does know that his regrets from that time pushed him to put his work first. A workaholic, as Kruger had described him. 

Because he wants to prevent that. Because he wants the current Young Warriors to succeed where they failed before. 

Because he wants these kids to be alright.

And in order for that to be accomplished, he needs Kruger.

And in order for his dreams to be achieved, he needs Kruger.

That’s all there is to it.

Betrayed? Hurt? Disillusioned? Maybe. Possibly. Probably. 

But more than anything, Theo feels… 

“Feeling calmer, you brat?” Theo asks.

There’s a small, almost shy, nod. 

“Sorry,” Kruger mumbles. And damn, he actually sounds like he means it.

“How do you want to report this? Do you want to turn Hartwin in as your assassin? Or do you want to just bury their bodies and pretend that this never happened?”

Is this too cold? Should he have given Kruger a bit more time before throwing him to the sharks? But it’ll be best to decide that now while the sun is nowhere near rising. Otherwise, they’ll have another headache to deal with.

“I… don’t want to smear their names.”

Theo feels like his shoulders got heavier. How tiring. With Kruger’s arm in a cast, he’ll have to dig by himself. 

“It should be fine to put their body somewhere conspicuous instead of burying them. That way, they can be found and properly buried.”

Oh, Theo likes this plan much more.

“Are you really okay with that? They were your friends, weren’t they?”

Kruger moves off of Theo. He glances around and picks up his cap, putting it on to complete the image of a Marleyan soldier. If not for how red and puffy his eyes are, no one will be wiser about what just happened. That and the blood on him. But that could also be blamed on Hugo.

Jeesh, did all of that really happen in one night? 

“Commander, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I do not have any friends.”

It seems that his dork of a brat is back. 

That’s good.

Theo doesn’t know how to deal with crying children for long periods of time.

“Don’t be proud of that, you brat. C’mon, let’s get rid of the bodies and return before your squad members come after us.”

There’s a small pause before Kruger turns to face Theo.

“Thank you.”

Then he must have felt embarrassed, because Kruger looks away, pulling his cap down dangerously low. It takes everything Theo has to not point out the blush on Kruger’s face. Now is not the time to tease his idiot of a Captain.

“For what it’s worth, Kruger, I have no plans on abandoning you. You are the Marleyan War Hero who cares very deeply for those around you. You are my Captain of a division filled with brats. That is more than enough for me.”

“Commander…”

Theo smirks at Kruger’s refusal to meet his eyes. “What’s wrong, Kruger? I thought you like compliments?”

“If you say any more, I might actually fall in love with you.”

“Looks like you’re feeling fine, if you can joke around like that.”

 

*

 

They leave the bodies near the entrance of the cemetery. One last time, Eren stares at the smile on Rosen’s face. What does that mean? Why did he suddenly smile like that? And for that matter, what was Don going to say?

“Kruger,” Magath calls.

“I’m coming.”

The two of them walk in silence to the Jaeger Clinic. How late is it? It doesn’t feel like they’re anytime close to dawn. Just how quickly did they wrap everything up?

Eren feels a bit guilty when he opens the door to the clinic, only to see startled awake parents. They all turn their frightened eyes at the two. And Eren is too frozen to react properly.

“We’re back from our smoke break,” Magath says. He gives Eren a small push into the clinic so he can squeeze in. “What’s the status?”

The parents move out of the way, seemingly huddle together to give Magath and Eren as much room as they can. Eren feels bad that they returned.

“Dr. Jaeger said we’ll give it until dawn to see if any serious sign shows. But so far, they all seem fine,” Onyankopon reports.

Of course, they are. Rosen said that it wouldn’t affect Eldians. But that’s not something Eren can say without giving away too much.

“Shall I get you some tea?” Yelena asks Eren. 

She glances at his eyes. Even without saying anything, she probably noticed how they’re still a bit puffy and red, huh? How annoying. Eren pushes his cap down lower to hide his eyes better. He doubts that actually helps, though.

“I’m fine.”

He moves instead to the other room, where the Warriors are sitting with Eren’s grandparents. It looks like even the ones who can heal are being looked over with precise care. So his grandparents haven't lost their touch, despite how old they've gotten.

“Captain!” Reiner greets, his eyes lighting up.

Eren sees both his grandparents flinch as they scramble to greet him without meeting his eyes. The rest of the Warriors don’t seem to notice that as they grin widely at Eren.

“It’s fine,” he tells his grandparents. Then to the Warriors, he asks, “Feeling alright?”

“We’re bored, actually. Captain, do you have any fun story to tell us?” Pieck asks with a wide grin.

“Fun story? Hm… Well, it was funny for me, but I have no idea if it’s actually funny,” Eren admits. He pulls up a chair to sit by one of the bedside. “This one time, the commanding officers thought it’d be fun to go to a casino…”

 

*

 

“That’s odd,” Dr. Jaeger mumbles as he checks the clock. “It’s unusual for Rosen to be so late.”

Marcel notes the small pause in Kruger’s story. It’s not big enough to warrant worry. But it’s noticeable enough that even Colt looks confused. 

“Maybe he fell back asleep while getting ready to come out,” Marcel says lightly, even though he knows the truth. 

The blood on Kruger's uniform did not look like that when he went out for a smoke break. That and judging by just how late Magath and Kruger took for their "smoke break," it's not hard to deduce what happened. Rosen is, without a doubt, dead. And Marcel will never figure out the mystery behind all of this.

Dr. Jaeger gives him a small smile. “Yes, I’m sure that’s it. He looked so stressed recently. It’ll be good if he got a good rest.”

Marcel forces a smile on his face and refuses to let any sign of what he saw leave his mouth. It doesn’t look like Kruger has noticed. And that’s how Marcel plans on letting it stay. Magath may know something, but as long as Kruger doesn't say anything, Marcel will keep this secret till his dying breath.

“… thanks to that, they started to call me ‘Devil’s Own Kruger.’”

“But you cheated,” Annie points out with a frown. “It’s not really luck if you cheat.”

“Not to mention Yelena did all the heavy-lifting by disguising herself as one of the workers at the casino,” Porco adds. 

“Captain, cheating is bad,” Bertolt scolds.

“And why do you even need all that money anyways? Don’t you have enough from being a War Hero?” Pieck wonders.

Kruger scowls at them. “I thought you wanted a funny story!”

“A funny story, not a cheating one!”

He felt close to Kruger when he returned to the Jaeger Clinic. But now that Marcel is facing Kruger like this, he realizes that perhaps he misjudged the distance between them. Because now, he feels impossibly far away from his Captain.

Perhaps he should have stayed in the clinic like Yelena told him to. He shouldn't have asked Porco to help him sneak out. He shouldn't have tried to approach Kruger. He shouldn't have- 

At the very least, he wouldn’t feel so awkward like this.

“Then Captain, tell us about the first time you drank alcohol!” Marcel says as he tries to join the talk.

Porco glances at him curiously but doesn’t call him out on it. He’ll probably expect Marcel to explain what’s going on later. But that’s not something Marcel can afford.

For the first time in his life, he will have to keep a secret from Porco.

What a strange place to be.

There’s a small grin on Kruger’s face. “My dad used to slip me some alcohol when I was a baby. He’d get scolded quite a lot by mom…”

… Huh? Is Kruger an idiot? What the hell is he saying? 

“I thought you didn’t meet your dad until you came to Liberio? The Mr. 'Eren Kruger' of the Public Security Authorities?” Colt asks, confused.

Kruger laughs. “I had more than one dad.”

It’s a smooth enough cover that everyone laughs. But Marcel feels like his heart is racing a mile a minute. His Captain is such… 

For just a second, Kruger’s eyes meet Marcel’s. 

And even though Marcel didn’t say anything, even though Kruger didn’t say anything, it feels like Kruger knows that Marcel-

“Oh, is that why you’re such a monster when it comes to drinking?” Magath asks as he joins them. He doesn’t pull up a chair. He just leans against the wall, looking at Kruger with a disgusted look. 

“I warned you I was a heavy weight,” Kruger says lightly.

“You’re not a heavy weight. You’re a monster.”

Have they always been this close? They often teased each other, but it wasn’t like this, was it? There’s… a lightness to what they’re saying that seems… Intimate? Marcel feels like that’s not quite the right word.

He glances at Pieck, who seems to have arrived on the same conclusion as he has. The two exchange a look before Pieck rolls her eyes.

“You lost,” Pieck mouths to him.

“You too,” Marcel mouths back.

Then after a pause, she says out loud, “Captain, do you have anyone you consider competent?”

“Huh? That came out of nowhere. Yeah, of course. Our Commander, for one,” Kruger says without even pausing to think. “The medical staff is amazing. Their nursing staff, too. Even our own staff at the headquarters are pretty amazing. And then there’s…”

Kruger pauses as he seems to realize what he just said. He slowly turns to look at Pieck, who grins innocently at him. Just as slowly, his face turns pink.

“Y-y-you… t-that’s not what I…”

“What’s that? Isn’t your type ‘competent people?’ That’s what you told us way back when.” 

“Kruger, I’m flattered, but I’m not interested in brats. Mature first and then we’ll talk,” Magath remarks lightly.

“I… I’m going to die as a bachelor! Leave me alone!” Kruger snaps.

It feels like they’ve returned to their usual dynamics. Marcel slowly breathes out and smiles. It feels more natural now.

 

*

 

The kids are given a clean bill of health, much to everyone’s relief. Magath, being the soft guy that he is, gives them the day off to rest.

Whether Rosen and Don’s bodies were found and what happened to them is something that Eren is not privy to know as a Marleyan. He can only hope that they were buried with respect.

Hugo’s funeral is held two days later, a day after the death of the Tybur family head. Eren considered sending a letter or a bouquet of flowers or something to the Tybur family, but he doesn’t in the end. It just doesn’t feel like it’ll be sincere if he sends something. Later, if Willy decides to come out of hiding to talk to him, he will.

Ah, he better figure out how to explain the assassin situation. Or perhaps he’ll just sweep it under the rug? At this point, he’s not sure which is better. It’ll prompt unwanted questions if he sweeps it, right? But to tell the truth would mean letting Willy get too close to his heart.

Mornings are no longer filled with loud crashes and Hugo’s voice begging that stupid dog to calm down. 

But slowly, he thinks he’s getting used to that, too.


	14. The Promise of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe we're already at the end of this story? I feel like it was just yesterday when I first came up with this ridiculous idea and started writing it. And now it's evolved into something else completely different from what I thought it would be. Originally, this was supposed to be just a collection of fluffy one-shots of Eren and the Warriors. There was supposed to be a lot more of a focus on Eren's squad members (and their deaths) than the previous Warriors.
> 
> And then it became... this. lol.
> 
> Thank you so very much for sticking with me for this long through this confusing change. I can only imagine what a mess it must have felt like you were reading. >_> And thank you especially to GalliJaw, [Chris_Blavatsky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chris_Blavatsky/pseuds/Chris_Blavatsky), [cifer66](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cifer66/pseuds/cifer66), [Blonde_and_Nerdy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blonde_and_Nerdy/pseuds/Blonde_and_Nerdy), [Halcyon_Days](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halcyon_Days/pseuds/Halcyon_Days), and [kthsbabybliss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kthsbabybliss/pseuds/kthsbabybliss) for leaving me lovely comments to this story. It really gave me the push I needed to finally complete this work.
> 
> Please look at the end notes for the rest of the rules of the game. Because, of course, I haven't forgotten. ^^

Eren groans when he feels the couch that he’s on shift due to Theo’s kick.

“Hey, you damned brat. How long are you going to stay here? Go home. It’s been two weeks.”

With a loud yawn, Eren slowly gets up. He takes his time stretching, knowing Theo is glaring at his every movement. 

“I told you the piping in the bathroom broke. Until it gets fixed, I’m stuck here,” Eren reminds him.

“It was fixed two days ago. Yelena told me.”

Damn her. He had been under the impression that she liked him out of the house. Then again, that was probably too hopeful of him, huh? Is she afraid that he’s eating sweets without them watching over his every move? He would like to point out that his diet has gotten much healthier since living with Theo. But he’s afraid that saying that would make Onyankopon sad.

“You could just move in with us. We have more than enough-”

Theo throws a pillow at Eren’s face. “Shut up and go make breakfast.”

 

*

 

Eren is not the only one to suggest moving in. Both Yelena and Onyankopon mentioned it in passing with excuses such as “Captain will be lonely without you” and “You won’t have to worry about us being late again.”

And Theo will just like to remind them that he got this modest dwelling so he doesn’t have to worry about living with other people. So if Eren can quickly get out of his apartment, he would be most grateful.

That said, he does suppose having Eren live with him does have one upside.

The smell of the omelet is absolutely divine. He will never say it to Eren’s face, but he is definitely going to miss this when Eren moves out. For someone who loves sweet things so much, he makes such savory and delicious omelets. Theo once asked Eren about that and all he received was a smug chuckle in response. He hasn’t asked since.

“The next mission’s supposed to take a week, right?” Eren asks as he sets the plate of food on the table. He sits down across from Theo. “Why don’t we make a bet then?”

“I’m not making a bet with you. You cheat.”

Eren, that brat, dares to ignore him. “If we can finish this mission in three days, move in with me.”

“And if we can’t?”

Theo absolutely hates that confident grin. “I’ll move in with you!”

“Then I’ll move out,” Theo growls.

“Perfect. Then you can stay with us in the big house!”

He’s not letting this go, huh? 

“Why are you set on this?”

Eren points his fork at Theo, this disrespectful brat. “It’s been two years since I first transferred to Liberio. In that time, you have had zero flings. No family that you go to contact, no friends you go out to meet, no one night stands or old flames. If Yelena, Onyankopon, and I don’t go out of our way to invite you, you just stay in the office or come home early.”

“What of it? Plenty of other officers do that,” Theo says as he takes a bite out of the omelet. It’s delicious as always. If only the creator can just leave it at that.

“Yeah. For maybe few weeks. Not for two years straight. Theo, aren’t you lonely?”

How the hell can he get “lonely” when he’s constantly dealing with a headache called Eren Kruger? Not everyone wants to be constantly bombarded or surrounded by people. Theo is doing fine.

“I happen to like being alone.”

Eren rolls his eyes. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

 

*

 

“Reiner.”

That’s all he needs to hear to know that it’s his turn. The comms don’t work too well when he’s in his Titan form, so he’s been waiting for Kruger’s command before he shifts. Now that it’s been given, until they see the white flag of surrender from the enemies, there’s no need to hold back.

That is just the might of the Warriors Division.

If that comes across as arrogance, then he supposes that they must be arrogant. But in the last two years, the Warriors Division has suffered no loss and no tragedies. 

According to the media, that’s thanks to Kruger’s brilliant planning as the War Hero who survived for so long in the frontlines. But according to Kruger, this is their own strengths. Reiner, of course, believes Kruger over the media, even if he does agree with the media.

Devastating power coupled with outstanding strategy.

Their arrogance is well-deserved. 

The Armored Titan roars and rushes into battle with such confidence.

 

*

 

The flags of surrender flies before Bertolt gets the chance to join the battle. Porco thinks that’s just how terrifying the Titans’ abilities are. 

“They surrendered so fast,” Colt sighs in relief. “Looks like we’ll be able to go home quickly.”

Porco glances at Kruger, who’s humming lightly as they walk through the battlefield. Their goal is to inform the Titans that things are over (since the comms never seem to work well with those in their Titans) while locating any who needs immediate medical help. As of now, they’ve informed Reiner and Annie, but it seems that Marcel might have gone in deeper.

“You’re in a good mood. Did you have plans lined up?” Porco asks.

Kruger grins, looking like a complete sleazeball. Porco hates it when this man gets like this. His bratty self is hard enough to deal with. But adding on this layer always turns Kruger into a headache. Kruger better feel grateful that they're all patient as hell with him.

“Let’s just say that I won a bet.”

“I bet you cheated,” Porco says without hesitation.

Kruger dares to laugh. “Of course! But if it’s to get what I want, there’s no harm in playing dirty.”

“Your comm is on, Kruger,” Magath says. 

Porco watches as Kruger’s face turns beet red. It seems Kruger’s bet was with Magath, judging from the way the Captain begins to stammer. 

And that’s the moment that the enemies were waiting for.

Porco imagines it’s the desperation.

They may have surrendered, but they don’t want to lose, kind of mentality. Or perhaps it’s more that they’re sore losers? Porco once asked Marcel about it, but the answer he received was, “They’re the enemy. Don’t mistakenly feel sympathy for them.”

So even if it sounds a bit cold, Porco resolved to not think about it.

Because he has things that he wants to protect, even if he doesn’t have the powers of a Titan. 

Porco’s aim is nowhere as good as Bertolt’s, but it’s enough to kill the first enemy soldier that appears with three bullets. One through the throat and two in the head. Colt takes care of the second one with more bullets, but that’s because Colt isn’t as accurate because his hands shake. The last one drops dead with just a single bullet from afar. Bertolt showing them off.

It’s not just the Titans, don’t they know?

Every one of the Warriors Division are monsters, Titans or not.

Porco feels Kruger’s hair ruffle and can’t help but to puff his chest out. 

“My shooting got sharper, don’t you think?” he brags.

Kruger’s grin is more than answer enough. 

If it’s for that grin, if it’s for the people that he wants to protect… 

Porco has decided long ago that he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.

 

*

 

If Eren stops to think about it, he probably became the type of adult that he hates the most. 

A hypocrite. A liar.

Someone who puts children in the line of danger without a second thought.

Someone who takes advantage of the people around him, manipulating them into saying and doing whatever he needs.

Someone who has a public face that people admire him for that will never be the truth.

Don’t people get sick and tired of this “War Hero” business? It’s been going on for two years, and they still celebrate with parades and excited eyes that Eren can’t even begin to fathom.

“You look depressed,” Willy remarks as he cuts the peach crumble pie. 

He, as always, hands Eren the bigger piece. The usual grin on his face looks more strained. It seems that he’s having just as much trouble dealing with his family as when he first took over two years ago. Not that easy to achieve your goals, is it, Willy? It seems even that young and vibrant eyes can dull with age.

“I’m not.”

Eren accepts the pie slice and digs in.

“You didn’t make this,” he finds himself noting right away.

“Eh? You can tell with a single bite?” 

Eren ignores the blush on Willy’s face and nods. “This is from the bakery on the 3rd street, isn’t it? That person always puts in way too much cinnamon.”

“I could’ve made a mistake and put a lot of cinnamon in,” Willy protests.

“No way. You’re too self-conscious about what I like. You wouldn’t dream of making a mistake like that.” Eren takes another bite of the pie. “Family business keeping you busy?”

Willy sighs. He leans back into the couch, looking quite like a child throwing a fit. 

“How was I supposed to know there would be this much setbacks? No one will side with me! I’m the head of the family! Listen to me! In fact, the other day, they told me to stop spending so much of my time following your progress. Ugh! The nerve!”

“They’re right. You should be more focused on-”

“Making money that we’re never going to be able to use in one generation?” Willy sneers. “What the hell are we going to do by just sitting on it? I don’t understand those fools. We should be more focused on what the rest of the world is developing. You’ve fought against them, right? The Anti-Titan weapons? How are they?”

“The ones we faced were prototypes. None of them could land a solid enough hit for me to judge. As they were, there’s no way for them to stand against my Warriors.”

“But in the future?” 

Trust Willy to pick up on the unspoken things.

“As things are, it’s hard to imagine it. But if there’s one thing I know as humans we’re good at, it’s that we like to overcome challenges. Without a doubt, someone will create a weapon that will outdo the Titans.”

“If that time comes… What will you do to win?” Willy asks.

To be honest, Eren wouldn’t be shocked if he is dead by that time. He only has two years left to live as it is. And due to all the missions, he hasn’t even had the time to properly approach the potential inheritors. He’s more shocked by the fact that he hasn’t been getting chronic nosebleeds like the previous Kruger did.

“I believe it’s called ‘coming up with a strategy.’ They normally use it in the military, but it seems you haven’t heard of it.”

Willy sighs. “Charming as always, Eren.”

“But if there’s one thing I do know, when the world develops a weapon like that, it’ll be too late for us to fight back. So before that, it’ll be nice to conquer them all.”

So that these kids won’t have to fight for forever.

But that’s too naive of a thought. Once a war is “over,” another will begin again. That’s just the greed of those in power.

“Eren, there’s a dinner tonight. The military heads are all gathering to talk about the current progress as well as where to go from here. As the Tybur family head, I’m supposed to sit through it without saying a word. Would you like to join me as my guard?”

Eren has heard Theo complain about that. “I’m a Commander of the Warriors Division,” he would seethe, “Why the hell wouldn’t they invite me to those?”

“Is it fine? I’m part of the Warriors Division. I thought they don't like us.”

Willy’s smile is strained. “You’re coming with me as the War Hero. Not as the Captain.”

There’s something else that Willy is planning. This dinner is something important, isn’t it? … Could it be? Is this the reason why Willy wanted a War Hero? After two years, they’re finally going to see the fruits of Willy’s labor?

Eren feels his lips twitch. 

“Let me just tell my squad I won’t need dinner tonight.”

 

*

 

“Commander, are you going to eat dinner by yourself again today?” Yelena dares to say such an embarrassing thing in front of the Warriors.

Theo levels her a look that she doesn’t even flinch away from. How she manages to have such an iron will surprises him every time.

“There’s some paperwork to be done.”

“If you’re waiting on paperwork from Captain, you’ll have to wait a while longer. He canceled our dinner plans. So it looks like he’ll be with his ‘date’ for a lot longer,” Yelena continues.

Typical those ‘dates’ with the Tybur family are done in the evening or on days they don’t meet. It’s odd that Eren will leave so early and stay so late. Perhaps something happened? Theo gets a bad feeling about this.

“Oh, Commander, if you’re waiting on Captain anyways, why don’t you eat dinner with us? The reservation’s for three, so it’ll be awkward if only Yelena and I show up,” Onyankopon says.

Yelena shrugs. “That’s fine by me if you join us. Otherwise, the reservation will go to waste.”

This is done on purpose. Theo can smell their plot from a mile away. But he finds himself agreeing anyways.

“It’ll be bad for the reservation to go to waste,” he reasons.

He doesn’t expect for them to end up grabbing what is advertised as the “cheapest buffet in town.” 

Reservation? What reservation? They don’t take reservations here! 

But when Theo glances at Yelena and Onyankopon, they both grin at him like he’s an idiot for trusting them, and he realizes that it’s not just Eren that cheats.

 

*

 

Willy is always caught off-guard by how cool Eren can look when he’s dressed in his full uniform, medals and all. In the two years he’s transferred to Liberio, he’s earned himself quite a long list of achievements and the medals to show for it. 

And it’s with this cool War Hero following two steps behind him that he enters the dinner with the military commanders.

“Hello gentlemen,” Willy greets them with his usual flair. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve brought the victor of the latest battle.”

The distaste they always save for him dissolves completely when they see Eren’s salute. That’s right. Not even the great commanders of Marley can resist the charm of a War Hero, can they? At the very least, this part is going according to plan.

“At ease,” General Calvi says. “We’re here for a dinner, Captain. It’s fine to relax.”

“You’ll have to excuse me. I’m not used to dining with my superiors,” Eren says with a small embarrassed duck of the head that is way more charming than it should be.

Those constant balls for donations turned out to be great plans after all. But the true test has yet to appear.

“Then shall we get started?”

They sit around the table with a grand feast prepared for the highest of the high. As always, Willy is placed the furthest possible space away from everyone. When Eren moves to sit by him, one of the commanders pull him away. There’s a small look Eren shoots Willy. And what can Willy do but just give him a cheerful smile back?

In this space, Willy is just a quiet observer. The one who will have to do the actual moving is Eren.

C’mon, Eren. You promised. You will be Willy’s Helos to the end, won’t you?

“I have to admit, Captain Kruger. I’ve always wanted to meet you,” one of the commanders admit with a wide grin.

“Me? I’ve done nothing too noteworthy. But our air force have developed quite a lot of fancy new ships haven’t we? I rather love admiring them by the river in Liberio,” Eren says smoothly.

Who the hell is this person? Is this really the sarcastic and rude Eren that Willy has gotten to know so well in the last two years? Amazing. No wonder the Warriors Division has had so much money recently.

“It’s far more impressive when you’re on it! When you have a day off, stop by. I’ll personally give you a tour!”

“Oh, that’s right, Captain Kruger. Congratulations on your latest victory. It must be quite a trouble to reign in those beasts,” another says, quickly cutting in.

Eren’s smile doesn’t slip. He keeps up with the flatteries with surprising quickness that makes Willy actually pause eating. Listening to some of the things he sprout make Willy’s stomach churn. The War Hero that he envisioned was never someone like this. No, the person before him right now is as much of a pretender, a performer, as Willy is.

No wonder Eren always felt like he could read Willy so well. How much did he figure out then? Does Eren realize his goal? How long has he known?

The conversation eventually ebb away from all the flatteries and finally get to the meat of why they’re all here.

“I’ve heard that the Anti-Titan weapons are starting to become popular in our enemy countries,” General Calvi leads. “How were they to face against, Captain Kruger?”

“Not as mighty as they advertised themselves to be. But if we give them a couple more years, it’ll be a pain to deal with,” Eren says honestly.

One of the commanders chuckles. “What are you so scared of, Captain? You’ve got literal monsters protecting you!”

“I suppose it can’t be helped.” 

Eren laughs lightly, but there’s a tint of something a little… feral behind it. When Eren smiles, it’s with an edge that steals Willy’s breath away. He maybe have played along with the flatteries, but he is still the War Hero who has earned his title.

“As someone who has fought and killed Titans, my feelings on those monsters are different. They’re not invincible. They’re not indestructible. With enough firepower, it’ll eventually be enough to kill them.”

The mood has shifted. The sycophant smiles of the commanders are gone. They’re watching Eren like he’s a danger now. Here it is. Much earlier than Willy thought it would appear. The real reason why Willy needed a War Hero.

“As we are now, how close would you say to world domination?”

Eren closes his eyes, possibly calculating the potential strategies they could use. He opens his eyes and seriously says, “Even if we are to take the rest of the world, we’ll still have to keep our eyes on any rebellions that rise up. To balance those equally while progressing forward, we’ll have to split our forces… The best estimate I have for it would be somewhere upwards to five years.”

“Five…?” one of the commanders groan. “Even with the power of those monsters?”

“If we had more than just those at our disposal, it’ll be faster. But if I’m realistic, even five years might be a stretch.”

“… What if we had an army of those Titans, all as powerful as the Colossal?”

Eren stills.

Willy pretends to drink his wine while he tries to decipher what kind of expression that is on Eren’s face. He’s not the only one. It feels like every judging pair of eyes are locked onto Eren. 

Please, don’t falter here.

“It’s something that the Tybur family head over there has suggested before,” General Calvi continues. “Claim the Founding Titan from the Island of Paradis. If we divide our forces like you recommend and claim the power of the Titans that King Fritz threatened the world… how quickly would you say world domination might take?”

“With the assumption that the Founding Titan’s power can indeed control those Titans, it’ll be over in seconds. The only time sink will be whether or not we can claim that power.”

General Calvi seems to take that under consideration. Amazing. When Willy brought it up before, everyone here had laughed it off. The charms of a War Hero truly is a terrifying thing.

“Would you say that it’s worth it to give it a try?”

Willy holds his breath and leans in towards the conversation. Please, he begs in his head. Don’t falter. Please just-

“Why wouldn’t we do everything to get the upperhand?” Eren asks as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Slowly, Willy breaths out. This is it then. His goal, his dream. It’s all coming together. Not even the rest of the family will be able to scoff this off now. With this, it’ll really be possible.

“I’m glad you agree. Then we’ll send your hand-picked Warriors to go retrieve the Founding Titan.”

That stops the momentum.

Eren quirks a brow. “My hand-picked Warriors?”

“What’s wrong, Captain? You’re not suddenly taking back your words now that your Warriors Division is involved, are you? You’re the one who supported this. Or are you saying that this is only okay when those outside of your division is sent? That’s right. I do remember that you were particular about letting those in the frontlines die than use the Warriors when you first joined the division… We all assumed it was Commander Magath as always getting in the way. Were we wrong?”

The accusation in that question is thick. If Willy were to speak out now to defend Eren, that would undo all the hard work in these last two years. Eren has to face this on his own. It’s frustrating. Willy wants to help, he really does. But…

“Pfft…” Eren covers his mouth. “Hahaha! I didn’t think you were such a jokester, General!”

Willy feels like his heart has dropped into his stomach. Because huh? Eren? What are you saying? Why are you laughing? Don’t antagonize them! They’re going to-

“I’m afraid I don’t see what’s so funny, Captain.”

There’s a small pause as if Eren didn’t expect that. He glances around at the cold looks set on him with surprise.

“You just said you’re sending my hand-picked Warriors. That means no one else in any branch has any intention of backing us up. General Calvi and commanders, surely you guys aren’t suggesting to leave the whole thing to bunch of Eldians?”

At the solemn looks on their faces, Eren…

Laughs even harder.

“Wait, wait, wait! Haha… You’re telling me that you, our nation’s greatest minds, can’t come up with a plan better than sending bunch of Eldians to an ‘Eldian Paradise?’ Unsupervised, no less! What a joke! Hahaha! Let me guess, you guys also believe that you can send bunch of guns out and they’ll return with a victory?”

How… does Eren manage to laugh so easily like that in the face of everyone’s anger? Willy can’t even begin to wrap his mind around it. Is this just the difference between a Marleyan and an Eldian? Or is this just part of Eren’s charms?

Eren shakes his head as he picks up his wine glass. 

“The Warriors Division exists to be weapons. Those Titans that we send out are our tools. Pfft.. B-but you guys… haha… Want to treat them like they have a brain? Like they’re  _ humans? _ Hahaha! I’ve never heard of anything more ridiculous! Jeesh, General and commanders, are you sure you guys aren’t the ones who consider these Eldians too highly?”

Unbelievable. With just that, he completely turned the tables around. Willy wonders if maybe he’s looked down on Eren too much. Because the rest of the military command look taken back and ashamed.

“Then what is your plan for taking back the Founding Titan?” one of the commanders ask, looking annoyed.

Eren swirls the wine in his glass. “First, you’d need a way to deal with the Pure Titans that are mindlessly moving around on that island. If you can’t get past that part, then no matter who or what you send, all of this would be moot.”

“The Anti-Titan weapons don’t exist yet, so aside from the Warriors, that leaves no one.”

“… No one? Really? I’m hurt.” Eren puts the wine glass down and smiles. “Have you forgotten what got me the title of ‘War Hero?’”

It occurs to Willy too late what Eren’s plan is. And by the time he realizes it, it’s much too late to regret what’s to come. It’s much too late for him to start apologizing. It’s much too late.

The goals that he has been gunning for since he first heard about the War Hero are slowly becoming tangible.

And in return, he’s going to lose his dearest friend.

 

*

 

“Was this your plan from the beginning? To target the Founding Titan?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why you wanted a War Hero. So you could have someone who could talk back to the heads of the military.”

“Yes.”

“And? With the Founding Titan in your hand, what is your goal that you want to accomplish?”

“It’s…”

“Don’t lie to me now. Isn’t it time you finally told me the truth?”

“Eradication of all Eldians. With the excuse to the Marleys that it’s for world domination, they’ll give the go-ahead. Then we can save the world from our existence. From the horrors of the Titans! I… want to end everything here. With our generation. Without passing this on any further. Don’t you think that’ll be nice, too? You lost so much because of us Eldians and Titans, too. If all of that can be over, don’t you think that’ll be great?”

“...”

“Eren? Please don’t be silent. Are you angry? Are you satisfied? Please tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Do you remember when I asked you to shake on it? I told you. I’ll be your Helos for as long as you don’t interfere with the Warriors Division. That hasn’t changed. I am still your ‘hero.’ But if you dare touch my Warriors while I’m gone, I will not hesitate to destroy everything you’ve worked hard to create.”

“W-wait. D-don’t be like that. I… I-I’ll bake you something nice and-”

“Willy, don’t touch me. I’m beyond infuriated with you. But lashing out wouldn’t be very ‘heroic’ of me, would it?”

“Eren-”

“That’s ‘War Hero Kruger.’”

 

*

 

“Ughhhh… I ate too much,” Onyankopon groans as he rests on the couch of the living room. “Yelena, make us some tea.”

But Yelena looks like she’s suffering just as much, even if she’s looking more dignified about it on the love seat. “You go make it.”

Theo lets out a soft sigh. “I’ll make some for you.”

“Ehhh? How lucky! We got the Commander to make us tea!” Onyankopon cheers.

“Too bad Eren isn’t here for this historical moment!”

“Shut up both of you.”

The only reason Theo agreed to come here is to make sure these two got home without getting into any trouble. It has absolutely nothing to do with Eren. And it most definitely has nothing to do with the dog Bruno that’s staring at him and then at his empty bowl in the kitchen.

He’s just here to make tea. He’s just here to…

Bruno lets out a small whine and pokes at its bowl with its nose. 

“Alright, fine, you stupid brat. Why are you just like him?” 

From his previous visits here, the dog food is kept in the child-proof cabinet highest away from the ground. He thinks these guys are probably lazy enough that they haven’t changed that location since. Lucky for him, he’s right.

He grabs the food out of the cabinet and turns to the dog. But instead of barking excitedly or looking cheerful, the dog is cowering in the corner.

… An intruder? 

No. If it was, this dog is more likely to run out, barking and biting. Then for it to be this scared, it must be-

Theo leaves the kitchen and comes to the living room. As he thought, Eren is home.

Looks like the dinner went horribly, judging from those angry green eyes. It makes Theo want to step back into the kitchen with making tea as his excuse.

“… your eyes on the Tybur family. If they make any move against the Warriors, crush them. Be merciless. I don’t care.”

“Eren, did the dinner…?”

“Sorry. I’m… in a really bad mood. I don’t want to lash out at you guys. Just… give me until morning, okay?”

Avoiding Onyankopon and Yelena, Eren takes a step towards Theo. He pauses for a second like he doesn’t really know what to think. Then…

“No matter what happens, protect those kids, Theo.”

Then he leaves without any explanation.

But when the morning comes and the orders from the top arrives, Theo understands what happened.

 

*

 

Marcel and Reiner.

Those two are chosen to accompany Kruger on this mission to claim the Founding Titan. The mission that will end all wars, the media says. The mission that will put an end to those devils on that island.

“Why… wasn’t it everyone? I-if it was the whole Warriors Division then-”

Marcel shakes his head, cutting Porco short. “And then what? We leave the rest of the nation at risk for attacks. Don’t you get it? That’s why we’re only sending two of us with Captain Kruger. Because if we send too many of us, the rest of the world will realize what we’re doing.”

“Then at least I should be allowed to go. I’ve gotten really good at shooting down close enemies. So I can-”

Porco flinches when Marcel grabs him by the shoulders. 

“And if you get eaten by a Pure Titan while we’re there? Or you get caught by the enemy? Captain Kruger can handle Pure Titans on his own without any issues. But you? You’ll just end up dragging everyone down.”

It’s cold. It’s cruel. 

But Marcel doesn’t know what else to say to keep his brother from going to some place so dangerous. 

The door bell rings before they can continue their argument. They hear their parents downstairs get the door and…

“C-Captain Kruger?!”

At their mom’s voice, the two of them rush downstairs to see what’s going on. 

“I apologize for intruding like this,” Kruger says to the Galliards. Behind him are Onyankopon and Yelena, almost like bodyguards.

“N-no, it’s alright. Please come in. Should we call Porco and Marcel?”

The Captain shakes his head. 

“I don’t intend to take up too much of your time. And there’s no need to call the Warriors. I came to talk to you two.”

“U-us…?”

Kruger straightens.

“I am about to take one of your sons into a land filled with unknown danger. Even I’m not confident about making it back alive. But… if there’s one thing that I swear to you, it’s that for as long as there’s life left in my body, I will prioritize getting Marcel back to you.”

Typically, this is when Kruger would hide his face and blush. But he doesn’t. He meets Marcel’s parents’ eyes with a calm that is much too cool.

“That is all I wanted to say. Please excuse me for the intrusion.”

There’s something on the tip of Marcel’s tongue, but he quickly pushes it down. He shouldn’t burden their Captain more than this. It must be hard enough to return to the internment zone like this, especially when he’s pretending to be a Marelyan. But… it’s still-

“Captain! Promise me, too!” Porco yells in Marcel’s pause.

Kruger glances towards them, not even shocked to see them there.

“That you’ll come back. That after saving Marcel, you’ll save yourself.”

“I can’t do that,” Kruger says. “Even if I have to throw my life away, I will bring both Marcel and Reiner back home.”

“But if we’re not all there, it won’t be the Warriors Division! If you don’t return, I’m… going to resent you! You won't be able to rest at all in death! You said so yourself, right? I'm going to be haunted for the rest of my life. So I'll force your ghost to haunt me!”

Marcel wonders how Porco is able to do that. How can he so easily just say what’s in his heart without any hesitation? Although everyone always praises Marcel for being smart, they don’t ever seem to notice Porco’s ability to connect to people.

So that’s why Marcel is certain that Porco should stay here in Marley.

Because if Porco is here with the other Warriors, they’ll be alright. Because Porco’s good about taking care of people, even if he can be rough at times.

Kruger surprises them by grinning. “That… would be quite a pain. Alright. I’ll do my best to come back. So take care of everyone at home, Porco.”

Perhaps Kruger understands Marcel's thought process and decided on this as the best plan of action. Marcel would really like it if that was the case.

Because that means Kruger can see a future for Porco, right? So he’ll take care of him, even after Marcel’s 13 years are up?

It’s okay to trust his brother to the War Hero, right?

No. That's wrong.

He's not entrusting Porco to Kruger, the Marleyan War Hero, or to Kruger, the Captain of the Warriors Division. He's trusting Eren Jaeger, the Eldian who once laughed so brightly with Rosen.

Once he starts thinking like that, Marcel feels infinitely better about the upcoming mission.

 

*

 

Reiner freezes at the sight of Kruger standing at the door to his house. Behind him are Onyankopon and Yelena, so at least this isn't something Kruger impulsively decided to do for fun.

"Who is it, Reiner?" His mom calls from the kitchen. 

"I'm here to talk to your mom," Kruger tells Reiner as if this kind of a visit from a Marelyan is normal.

"M-mom? It… uh… it's my Captain. He says he wants to talk to you."

A sound vaguely like a crash follows those words. Then Karina peeks out of the kitchen, looking shocked.

"Are you alright?" Kruger asks.

Reiner doesn't blame his mom a second for looking so starstruck.

"Y-yes. I'm fine. B- But Captain, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

Kruger nods. "I apologize for intruding like this. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh no. I'm fine. Please don't feel like that," Karina says as she moves out of the kitchen.

"I came today to both to apologize for taking your son away and to promise you that I will bring him back. No matter what happens, I will prioritize saving Reiner's life."

“B-but I’m a titan shifter, Captain! I can heal myself. You should be more concerned about-”

Kruger holds his hand up, silencing Reiner. 

“I will bring your son home safely. You can rest easy knowing that.”

With that, Kruger ruffles Reiner’s hair and gives him a grin. 

“You too, rest easy. I’ve got your back.”

“I’ll leave Reiner in your hands,” Karina tells him.

“I will not disappoint your trust. Then I’ll be taking my leave.”

Once upon a time, Reiner became a Warrior in hopes of uniting his family. He wanted to have a dad. He wanted to see his mom smile. He wanted a normal, traditional family. Because that’s what you’re supposed to want. That’s what you’re supposed to strive for.

But since he met Kruger, he feels more and more like it’s okay to want what he wants. To be who he is.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the parade, Captain!”

 

*

 

“Wouldn’t it be better if we went to the island with you?” Yelena asks with a worried frown.

Onyankopon glances at Eren like he wants to add on but refrains. Eren is thankful for it.

“No. Dealing with Titans is easy. But the government here is a mess. If no one is keeping their eyes on it, our Commander’s going to end up dying from overwork.”

Eren feels both of their disbelieving stares on him, so he grins.

“If all else fails, use those kids. They’ve got good heads on their shoulders. And are just as good as me when it comes to wearing down ol’ Theo.”

The three of them laugh lightly as they return to their home. But the good mood is quickly dashed when they hear the dog’s bark even from this far away. It looks like there’s someone standing by the door and…

“Commander?” Eren asks.

The three glance at one another before saluting.

“At ease,” Theo tells them. “I had something to tell you, but you guys sure took your time. Did you tell the parents what you needed to say?”

“Yes sir. What did you want to tell us, sir?”

The only reason why Eren picks up on Theo’s unease is because of the light blush on his face. Huh? Is this about moving in? Is that why he’s so uncomfortable?

“Let’s make another bet. Come back home with both those Warriors and I will live with you.”

He waited for however long to tell Eren that? This… stupid…

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I suppose you’ll just have to be satisfied with abandoning me to my lonesome in that apartment.”

How annoying.

Eren grins. “I suppose that would be too sad of a life for our Commander to live.”

Theo’s answer is to knock off Eren’s cap and ruffle his hair.

“I’ll be waiting for good news, Eren.”

Honestly, every single one of them…

Return here within two years with both Reiner and Marcel, not to mention with the Founding Titan. If Eren wasn't secretly the Attack Titan, this would actually be a daunting task.

 

*

 

The parade comes and goes.

The cheers from the festivities die down.

And before the melancholy of what they’re about to do sink in, the three prepare to leave for the Island of Paradis.

 

*

 

“Emma, if you’re here to apologize in Willy’s stead, I don’t want to hear it,” Eren says when he spots the familiar lady as they get ready to depart.

Instead of words to defend herself or her brother, Emma sighs heavily. “You don’t even realize just how loved you are, do you? My idiot brother is breaking all sorts of laws within our family to send me to you, you know.”

“Tell him to don’t bother and go back.”

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m coming with you,” Emma says.

“You’ll be in our way.”

Emma laughs. “The War Hammer Titan differs.”

Breaking laws within the family, huh? That damned Willy… If he moves like this, then Eren will have no choice but to keep his Attack Titan a complete secret. Damn it. Things just got even more complicated. For once, just once, can Willy please just butt out of Eren's life?

“If you can’t keep up, I’ll leave you behind.”

“Oh, now that’s not very ‘heroic’ of you.”

 

*

 

Theo sits in the silence of his apartment, long after dropping Eren and the three Eldians off on the island. He still doesn’t know what to make of that “Emma” woman. But since Eren didn’t say anything about it, he didn’t either. 

But now he’s regretting it a little.

Has his home always been this quiet?

And now that he thinks about it, he’s been living with Eren for the last two weeks, hasn’t he? Not to mention how big of a presence Eren has on the Warriors Division (as well as Theo’s life) in the past two years. To suddenly lose him like this…

It’s quite lonely.

He can’t wait for Eren to come back home.

 

_ Fin. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The winner of the game is whelp here we go! I hope you enjoy the story once it goes up!


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